SPRING HILL, Fla. — Last year, two days before Christmas, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office got a call from a woman in Spring Hill. Her 1-year-old French bulldog, Kali, had been stolen.
The woman told deputies that she'd let Kali go outside the previous morning at around 9:15. A few minutes later, she noticed that Kali had escaped from the fenced-in backyard.
Her neighbor said he'd seen Kali walk up to a man who was driving a white Chevrolet Cruze and wearing an Amazon uniform. The man was Hispanic and in his mid-20's, and he had just delivered a package to an house nearby.
According to the neighbor, the driver briefly interacted with the dog and then drove off, and Kali ran after his car.
Another neighbor who also witnessed the moment said the driver stopped his vehicle again, picked up Kali, and put her in the backseat before driving off just as Kali's owner came out looking for her.
Using the information both neighbors provided, the woman first reported the incident to Amazon Customer Support. Then, on the advice of a representative from Amazon, she called law enforcement.
Recovering Kali
Kali's owner provided deputies with a photo and a detailed description of the dog. Just over three weeks later, on Jan. 16, detectives identified the driver, 34-year-old Reinier Revilla of Tampa, and went to his home to interview him about the stolen dog.
Revilla confirmed to the detectives that he had taken Kali and still had her. Kali was recovered from a nearby house and returned to her owner later that day.
The next day, detectives called Revilla and told him they had a warrant for his arrest on a charge of Grand Theft. Revilla made arrangements to turn himself in at the Hillsborough County jail, which he did two days later, subsequently being released after posting a $5,000 bond.
Susan Long is a Florida-based pet detective.
"French bulldogs, Yorkshire terriers, and Shihtzus are the most common stolen breeds," Long said. "I get lots of cases where 'they were just out there for five minutes' and they're gone."
Long said thieves are often looking for purebred dogs that aren't spayed or neutered.
"What happens is people will steal them, hoping to sell them to backyard breeders," she explained. "If they find out that they are spayed or neutered, then they'll either just turn them loose, they'll do something negative to them, or they'll take them to a shelter."
Long advises owners of high-value dogs to invest in a high non-transparent fence, surveillance camera, and GPS collar. She recommends the Fi Smart Collar.
She said other good ideas are, "Obviously microchipping, tattooing and never leaving your highly valuable intact male or female unattended."
The American Kennel Club says roughly two million dogs are stolen every year and most of the time never recovered.