PHOENIX — Searching for a lost pet is one thing, but as a blind man, looking for a stolen pet is an entirely different challenge.
The French Bulldog in this story is known as The General, named after his camouflage color.
Tanner Gers got him for his only daughter, so the two could grow up together.
“It’s been tremendous for her growth and communications and development as an individual,” said Gers.
For Gers, the Frenchie's heavy breathing was a sound of comfort.
“It’s a sense of security that I know that he’s there,” he said.
A car crash years ago left Gers blind. The loss of one of his senses amplified the others.
“I can normally tell where he is based on his breathing,” he said.
When that sound fell silent, he walked from his backyard to the connecting alleyway and around to the front, checking for his dog.
That’s when neighbors told him they suspected a car drove by, picked up the dog, and drove off.
“My daughter drew a card and put it under his bed, and it said, 'Come home, General,' under his kennel,” he said.
A police report was filed but the pet-loving community is a group of investigators themselves.
”We were getting tips left and right,” said Gers.
Gers passed along two tips to officials.
One of the tips was from someone who said there’s a known person who looks to steal dogs and then resell them. The other was from a couple who was approached at a park in Laveen recently asking if they’d like to buy a French Bulldog with the same coat.
”We know it was The General because of the color patterns and The General has distinctly one testicle,” he explained.
While there’s gratitude from Gers and his family for the diligent sleuthing from the pet-loving community, there’s grief in the form of an empty kennel.
He pleads that, if he somehow hears The General in his backyard again, he won’t press charges.
”You don’t really understand how much you love something, or how much you need something, or how much you appreciate something until it’s gone," Gers said.
