French bulldog stolen from Bay Shore home reunited with owner
Zushi with his owner Catherine Vasquez before he was taken from her home. Credit: SCPD
A three-month old French bulldog has been reunited with his owner, about one day after he became the second such valuable purebred dog stolen in Suffolk County last week.
The owner of Zushi, Catherine Vasquez of Bay Shore, confirmed her puppy was back home in a brief text. She said he was dropped off at an animal hospital in Coram — and having gotten him microchipped "made all the difference."
The Suffolk County police offered no details other than to say in a statement: "Zushi, the French bulldog stolen during a burglary at a Bay Shore home, has been returned to his owner."
The puppy was stolen during a burglary at Vasquez's home on Farrington Avenue in Bay Shore that also cost her $4,000 in cash and designer clothes for her online boutique. It happened between 8 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday, according to Suffolk police.
No one was home. Vasquez, 29, said she was out at her nephew’s birthday party and returned late Saturday night to find her place ransacked and her puppy missing.
"It was horrendous," the mother of two said. "I had a mountain of clothing from my bed to the drawers [and] dressers. Everything, paperwork, Social Security cards flown everywhere. It was just a complete mess."
Also taken, she said, was her sense of security in her home.
It came just after a Thanksgiving Day break-in in Huntington where a 4-year-old purebred named Stella was stolen. Stella was found two days later by a woman walking her sister’s dog in Center Moriches.
French bulldogs easily can cost more than $1,000, depending on where they are bred, according to websites dedicated to them. Considered a low-energy breed, they have become popular in recent years.
Anyone who can help detectives should call: 631-854-8352 or Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS. All calls are confidential.
With Dandan Zou
