A Los Angeles man delivered an emotional plea for his dog's safe return home after she was stolen at gunpoint over the weekend.
Mario Felix was walking his French Bulldog, Jennifer, with his wife in their Montebello neighborhood Sunday evening when he was approached by an armed thief who also stole his watch and wallet.
"We walk our dogs three times a day, and unfortunately, on Sunday at about 10:20 p.m., we… did our evening walk, and when I was in the corner just looking the other way, this person passes me up, makes a little U-turn, and while he made this turn and pulls out a gun on me and he asked me for my watch, my wallet, my phone and my dog," Felix told "Fox & Friends First" Wednesday.
"I gave him what he wanted, except my dog."
Felix said the suspect kept pressing him about taking the dog, and when he moved the gun closer to him, he felt he had "no choice" but to hand over his beloved pup.
"I just got really scared," Felix recalled. "I knew he had no problem, pressing the trigger, so I had no choice but to stand back."
"It's just the world we live in now. It's just getting worse and worse," he continued. "But we live in a good area. We live in a very fair area where nothing has happened. There is no crimes here. Our neighbors are really surprised… we have neighbors that have been here for past 15 years and never once has anything like this happened. It's ugly. We didn't expect it."
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Montebello Police responded to the incident within a minute, but the alleged perpetrator had already fled the scene with Jennifer, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported.
Jennifer requires special food and medication and can be difficult to maintain health-wise, which is why Felix is worried she could be at risk if she isn't found soon.
"Right now we [are] just begging for our dog to come back," Felix said. "It's just hard being without our baby. We need our dog back. She needs us too because she's not she's not well and we're just really pleading to the public to please return our dog."
"I know she's suffering right now as she needs us, but we need her even more," he continued. "And it might sound selfish, but… We both need each other. She won't make it on her own and she will make it with new owners. There's just too much to learn."
