Sheffield dog thefts: Armed men in balaclavas demanded Sheffield owner hand over French bull dog puppy

Curtis Pass had taken his 11-month-old French bulldog puppy, Jenson, out for a walk at 9pm last night, when he said the incident happened, and was today waiting to speak to police about the incident, which he said had left him terrified.

He said today: “I was petrified. I picked up my dog and fled, and locked the door when I got home, and waited for the police. I couldn’t sleep last night.”

"There was no way I was going to let someone steal my dog.”

Curtis said that he and Jenson were walking along Albert Road in Meersbrook, Sheffield, when the incident happened.

He said: “I heard a car screeching, and it pulled up in front of me. There were two people in the front, speaking with possibly Eastern European accents, and two in the back, who spoke with English accents. They all had balaclavas on.

“The people in front got out – the passenger was carrying a sledgehammer. The other asked me what breed my dog was before insisting I hand him over, which I didn’t. I just had to grab my dog and run.”

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He said that the car was an Audi A3, and he fled down an alleyway to escape.

Curtis said he would not be taking Jenson out again at night following the incident, and if his pet needed to go out late, he would be only taking him into the garden.

“I just don’t want to risk this again,” he said. “I’ve not had him that long. He’s still a puppy.”

Now he wants other dog owners to be aware of what happened to him and to make sure that they and their pets are safe.

He said he would urge them not to go out alone with their dogs at night and to be aware that there were people out there.

He said he had read of a similar incident involving a French bulldog happening in Rotherham.

South Yorkshire Police have confirmed that are now investigating the reported incident and have now also appealed for anyone with any information, or even CCTV footage from the area, to come forwards to help with the ongoing investigation.

They said in a statement that they issued today: “Police were called at around 9.30pm on 11 September to reports of an attempt robbery in Sheffield.

The statement added: “It is reported that the victim was walking his dog in Albert Road when a black car containing four occupants pulled up alongside him. Two of the occupants got out of the vehicle, threatened the victim with a hammer and demanded he hand over the dog. The victim fled with his dog and the offenders drove away in the direction of the Co-Op in Heeley.”

“Enquiries are ongoing to trace those involved. Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting incident number 920 of 11 September.”

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