A Los Angeles couple is marking a painful milestone this week: one year since their beloved French bulldog, Mushie, went missing while in the care of a pet sitter.
Mushie, a 7-year-old black brindle French bulldog with a distinctive white patch running from her chin to her belly, disappeared on Sept. 17, 2024, in North Hollywood. Her owners, Gabriella Sidhu and her partner, Chris Casey, said the dog was lost less than 15 minutes after they dropped her off with a sitter booked through the app Rover.
“This sitter had watched Mushie almost ten times before,” Sidhu previously told KTLA. “But when we got the call, she told us Mushie was left outside alone and disappeared.”
Sidhu and Casey had rescued Mushie a year and a half earlier, after she was abandoned by a breeder in Palmdale when she could no longer have puppies. They said the dog was just beginning to enjoy her first bed, toys, and consistent affection when she vanished.
In the year since, the couple has launched an extensive search effort that has included hiring a bloodhound search team, consulting psychics, posting more than 1,000 flyers and 100 yard signs, and even draping banners over Los Angeles freeways. Sidhu has also covered her car in signs bearing Mushie’s image.
Their search has extended beyond their own case. Along the way, Sidhu said, they have helped reunite more than ten other dogs with their families and supported pet owners like Kevin Mundo, whose French bulldog Nova was stolen from a Sun Valley yard earlier this year.
But their focus remains on Mushie. “We won’t give up until our baby is home,” Sidhu said in a statement to KTLA.
The couple is offering a $10,000 reward for Mushie’s return or for information leading to her whereabouts, “no questions asked.” They’ve also organized weekly anonymous drop-off opportunities at a Starbucks in North Hollywood, where a neighbor will accept information or Mushie herself on Sundays between 2 and 3:30 p.m.
To mark the one-year anniversary, Sidhu and Casey are hosting community events in Mushie’s honor. On Wednesday, Sept. 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., they plan to distribute flyers at Victory Vineland Recreation Center in North Hollywood. A candlelight vigil will follow on Saturday, Sept. 20, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Victory Boulevard and Beck Avenue, the intersection where Mushie was last seen.
“We understand things happen, and we don’t want anyone to be punished for this,” they stated on the website. “We just want our baby girl back.”
In a previous statement to KTLA, Rover said it had posted alerts to shelters and veterinarians, reached out to its sitter network, and offered a reward to support the search. “Our hearts go out to Mushie’s family, and we join them in hoping for a swift and healthy reunion,” the company said in a September 2024 statement.
Anyone with information about Mushie can call 760-960-9272 or visit the website Sidhu and Casey created to spread awareness.
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