Family left traumatised after brazen dog theft at Upper Coomera

A GOLD Coast pet owner has thrown herself in front of a getaway car to prevent thieves from fleeing with her beloved dog. Princess. Residents are being urged to keep an eye on their dogs.

Princess the beloved French Bulldog escaped from thieves by jumping from a moving car. PHOTO: Supplied

A FAMILY dog narrowly escaped the clutches of a brazen pet thief by jumping from the stranger’s car.

The Upper Coomera family had to watch on in terror as a man in his 20s bundled their dog Princess into a ute just after 7pm Monday.

Mother-of-two Michelle Pacheco said she was alerted to the attempted abduction by a soft dog whistle and strange yelps.

“I saw a guy trying to pull our dog out from under the fence,” Ms Pacheco said.

“He had her halfway out and I ran to the front door, and yelled out to my partner that someone was trying to steal Princess. We ran out the front to see the guy running to his car.

“It was planned as (the car) had no numberplates or lights on.”

Michelle Pacheco's son, Hunter Tennyson (4) watched as his family dog was stolen from his home.

They watched as their beloved french bulldog, which had been wrapped in a jumper by the man, was thrown into the front passenger seat of the ute.

“The kids were there to witness it all and were screaming and jumping up and down. It was very traumatic,” she said.

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Ms Pacheco blocked the road with her body to try and stop the unmarked ute.

“My partner kept screaming at me to move, but I couldn’t. I was just frozen.”

The getaway vehicle reversed as Princess jumped from the open window on to the ground.

“She jumped and ran straight to the kids, just as he slammed into reverse,” Ms Pacheco said.

Police are investigating but said they were not aware of any dog-theft trend in the Upper Coomera area.

Ms Pacheco said her children, aged 4, 7 and 11, have been traumatised by the incident.

“This has now become an every day worry of every hour, every minute in fear of never seeing a member of the family ever again,” Ms Pacheco said.

“The kids got an awakening of how cruel some people can be, and the reality of life that there’s not always good out there,” she said.

Since then Ms Pacheco had kept the dogs by her side.

“Even now if we hear the dogs bark or a car, the kids run screaming to check on the dogs.”

Princess the beloved French Bulldog escaped from thieves by jumping from a moving car. PHOTO: Supplied

Another Upper Coomera resident said she was followed by a similar man in a white Triton ute while walking her dogs.

“My son and I were walking our show dogs,” said Stacey Jaundell. “He came out in front of me asking is that a french bulldog or Boston terrier.

“I said he’s a french bulldog. He then asked me if it was a rare colour worth about $9000,” she said.

The man continued to follow Ms Jaundell and her son, she said.

“I was scared, my heart was racing.

“When we hit the corner of the block I pulled my phone out, he took off.”

The man is described in both instances as caucasian with “scruffy” brown hair and aged in his early 20s.

The vehicle is described to be a white older-model Mitsubishi Triton with no registration plates and a P-plate attached.