Therapy Dog Of Autistic Kids Returns Home After Being Stolen

Aug 19, 2021

Dogs are a man's best friend, so when one goes missing, it's devastating for whoever is its owner. Any pet going missing is sad for a family but it's even more heartbreaking when a beloved animal has been stolen. 

Unfortunately, this was the case for one Rochester, Minnesota family, whose French bulldog named Sprinkles was stolen from one of the son's arms. What's more, the pet was a therapy dog for the three children of the family, all of whom have autism. 

The matriarch of the family, Jen Arendt, recalled how one day in June, the family was left devastated when a woman came up to her 14-year-old son and took Sprinkles out of his arms, right in the family's front yard. The woman got away on foot and local police weren't able to find any leads.

Arendt told news station KTTC: "It's absolutely devastating. I mean I thought I could leave them home alone ... I can't leave them home alone, I can't leave valuables in my yard."

But for Arendt's three autistic sons it was especially difficult, as they couldn't process that their beloved dog was suddenly gone without warning. To add to the stress of the situation, Sprinkles was taking ear medication and Arendt was also worried about what would happen to him without it.

So she did what she could — posted about it on Facebook and asked whoever might be looking after him to please take him to the vet. She added on her Facebook post: "We all want him home safe but please this is 3 boys that just don't understand (I don't know who could) why their best friend was stolen from them. They want their best friend back."

Luckily, Jen's post was the key to the family getting Sprinkles back.

Despite weeks passing by with no sign of Sprinkles' return, Arendt told her family to have faith. She explained to KTTC:

"I've always told the boys you know, Sprinkles will be returned. It will just be in God's timing."

After nine weeks, the Arendt family's faith was finally rewarded when they were unexpectedly reunited with Sprinkles. She explained: 

“Somebody that was dog-sitting him messaged me on Facebook, ‘Hey, I think I have your stolen French Bulldog. We’re dog-sitting him.' And I was like, ‘Please send me a picture to confirm’ and they did.”

It eventuated that Sprinkles had been bought by a family in St. Paul, who had no idea the dog was stolen. After seeing Arendt's Facebook posts they did the "right thing" and returned Sprinkles to the family. Arendt added that she's "so very blessed for that." Now that Sprinkles is home, Arendt stated that he will be taking classes to further his abilities as a therapy dog to her boys. Additionally, she has added security cameras to the front of her home.

Since the incident, a suspect has been named but charges have not yet been filed, KTTC reports. The awful reality is that French bulldogs are incredibly sought after by dog thieves, as they can fetch very high prices. They start selling at $1,200 and can easily go upwards of that. 

Sadly, Sprinkles' dognapping is not a unique incident — just earlier this year, pop star Lady Gaga's pet bulldogs were also stolen at gunpoint. After a lot of media attention, the dogs were returned two days later.

Do you know of any similar dognapping stories or close calls? Spread the word so that others can stay informed and alert for similar incidents.