Houston man offers $12,000 reward for return of missing 10-month-old dog

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston pet owner is offering a $12,000 reward for the return of his missing French bulldog, Jocko.

Ian Gonzales shared his plea to find Jocko on social media. Gonzalez said he filed a police report on Aug. 23, the same day the dog went missing in the Westchase area of Houston.

Gonzales said Jocko was taken from his apartment complex. He said he took his eyes off of him for a couple of minutes, heard him barking, and when he went outside, Jocko was gone.

Police have taken a look at surveillance video, but could not tell if Jocko got out or not, since a lot of cars were shown leaving, and none of the cameras were pointed at where the dog was.

"Somebody definitely took our dog because he wouldn't have gone out," Gonzalez said in an interview with ABC13. "I know somebody just picked him up and they probably held him for a little while and I don't know what happened."

Since Jocko's disappearance, Gonzales said he has raised the reward from $3,000 to $12,000 for anyone who finds him. He told ABC13 he has been contacted about possible sightings of Jocko, but none of the dogs were his. Gonzalez added that a most recent tip raised some flags of hope.

"I didn't know if it was a scam or not, but online I posted it was in the Westchase area, and you know Westchase is pretty broad. So then they texted me, 'I know the person that stole him got him off of Seagler Road,' and I never posted where my apartment was," Gonzales said. "I ended up trying to send that person money, but every time I tried, my bank actually rejected it."

Gonzales said he's had Jocko since he was about 7 weeks old, adding the little canine means a lot to him and his ex-girlfriend. He added that the last person who reached out to him said the person who took Jocko takes him into a shop every day.

Now, he's pleading with the public to help bring Jocko home.

Jocko is described as a lilac male French bulldog. He is 10 months old and weighs about nine pounds. He has an "L" shaped white patch on his chest and a small white circle under his chin.

Gonzales is asking that anyone with information on Jocko's whereabouts contact him at 346-610-2162.