Owner offering reward after thieves steal English bulldog puppies from Parkland home

PARKLAND, Wash.  -- A Parkland man is devastated after thieves broke into his home and stole two of his puppies.

The owner recovered one of the puppies but the second one is still missing.

On Tuesday, owner Douglas Gracia took the recovered puppy to Tahoma Veterinary Hospital in Spanaway to make sure it was micro-chipped.

“We implant the microchip and it usually goes right between their shoulder blades,” technician Ashley Schrader said.

Last week, someone stole Alexis and her sister Whitney from his Parkland home by breaking in through the kitchen window.

"I didn't go to sleep for two days. Oh my God, I've been on Craigslist doing nothing but looking for my dogs."

He posted desperate ads for the stolen English bulldogs online.

A call came in from an animal hospital. Gracia said the animal hospital caller told him, "Friday afternoon, someone brought your dog in, saying they found the dog at Southcenter Mall."

"I was over the top," Gracia said. "She told me I got your dog in the backseat and we are on the way home."

But that's only half of a happy ending. Whitney is still missing.

The missing puppy is a little smaller than Alexis; Whitney is all white with black spots on the left ear and a protruding belly button.

Gracia thinks he knows who took the puppies. He believes some men hired to clear brush around his house could be responsible.

"They said, 'Why don't you give me one of the puppies in exchange for clearing the brush?' And I laughed if off, I thought that was comical," Gracia said.

Days later, the rare pure breed puppies were gone.

Right now detectives are trying to track down those workers for questioning.

"Put yourself in my shoes. If someone stole your dog, how you would you feel?" Gracia said.

Not just a dog, but a member of his family he hopes to reunite with Alexis.

The owner is offering a $500 reward for Whitney but only if she is returned and the thieves are prosecuted.

You can leave an anonymous message at Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.