Brody, Debbie Campbell’s emotional support dog, escaped from her San Lorenzo home on February 3. Her family conducted an all-hands-on-deck search for him, which included sharing on social media, but to no avail. Brody was nowhere to be found.
The family almost gave up hope when they got a phone call late last week from Tijuana. Benjamin Gonzalez was on the other end of the line. He said that he might have Brody.
Debbie told Gonzalez that her dog has a tattoo and asked him to show them a photo of it. The dog had his tattoo. She knew from that moment that he is Brody.
Gonzalez said he bought him three weeks ago in downtown Tijuana. He also mentioned that he had no idea he’s a stolen dog. He further explained that he found a man on the street that sells Brody for $2,000.
Gonzalez ended up paying $1,000 for him. After Gonzalez’s family saw a Facebook post about Brody, the puzzle pieces started to fall into place. He explained that it all made sense now because he could see how sad and unhappy the dog was.
Debbie’s son was making his way down to San Diego after they received the call from Gonzales. He successfully picked Brody and was safely and happily returned to San Lorenzo. Though it’s unclear how the dog ended up in Mexico, Campbell suspects that someone stole Brody.
They believe that whoever snatched him had the intention of selling the dog for a higher price. Because of their popularity and high cost, criminals primarily target French Bulldogs. Like what happened to Lady Gaga’s two French Bulldogs that ended up stolen in Los Angeles.
Gonzalez received compensation for the amount he paid for Brody, but he turned down any further compensation from Campbell.
Credit: Audra Campbell via Facebook