ORLANDO, Fla. – Johnny Matos is desperate to get his French bulldog Bugsy back.
“It’s been heartbreaking, it’s been too much, it’s a real burden that we are carrying right now,” Matos said.
Matos said he was on his nightly walk with Bugsy through The Enclave subdivision in Orlando when he spotted a vehicle following him. He said he never imagined the horror he would face moments later.
[TRENDING: SpaceX aims to fly -- and avoid explosion | 4-year-old among 3 dead in I-95 crash | Thief pup gets new home]
“He came up to me and said, ‘Give me the dog or I’m going to pop you,’ and then you look at the gun and just think, ‘What do I do right now?’” he said.
“I hand my dog over to him and it was the look on my dog as I handed him over that haunts me.”
The thief nabbed Bugsy, ran off on foot and jumped into a getaway vehicle.
“The Audi they were driving was silver, the brakes were so distinct, if you heard them you would turn to look because it was that type of noise coming off of them,” Matos said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident. It’s been four days since the dognapping but Matos said the emotions are still raw.
“Luckily there was, like, a little car right there so I ducked behind the car a little bit and I called 911,” Matos said.
Matos said Bugsy has been a part of the family since the beginning of the pandemic for his wife. He calls Bugsy the family’s COVID pet and can’t believe someone would violently abduct him. Now, he’s offering a $2,500 reward for his dog’s safe return.
“Whoever did this, it’s just a matter of time before your door gets kicked in,” he said. “He will be back. I got faith that he will be back.”
Matos said the subdivision where this occurred does have surveillance video and investigators will be collecting surveillance video from neighbors too.
If you have any information on Bugsy’s whereabouts, contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.