A Jacksonville family was in Georgia to compete in a dog show over the weekend when the family’s car, with two award-winning show dogs inside, was stolen, WAGA-TV reported.
It happened Saturday at a gas station in Conyers, where the family stopped after Christine Brown, 11, had finished showing her French bulldog.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without Hero,” Brown told WAGA. “Please bring him home because he’s my best friend.”
According to WAGA, surveillance cameras captured the family’s red Dodge Charger -- with Hero and the family’s other show dog named Crayola inside -- being stolen at the gas station.
“It happened so fast," Julian Roldan, Brown’s father, told WAGA. "You wouldn’t think it would happen, but it happened.”
The Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office said it is working to find the thieves, who showed up at the gas station in a white sport utility vehicle.
Roldan said he’s worried the prized show dogs will be sold online.
“Somebody called and told us somebody tried to sell Hero already,” he said.
The family said it is offering a $5,000 reward for the return of the dogs. Anyone with information is asked to email priefitlife@gmail.com.