Woman dragged by car trying to retrieve 5 stolen French Bulldog puppies: Lethbridge police

A Lethbridge woman remains in hospital after being dragged and hit by a car while trying to save her five, three-week-old French Bulldog puppies.

“All I want is my puppies home so that they can go be with their families where they belong,” owner Courtney Ogbogu said.

The incident happened Sunday afternoon.

Ogbogu said she had placed an ad on Kijiji and was showing the puppies to two people at a home on Trent Road when five of the seven were stolen.

“They asked for an address for the closest RBC and I went and attempted to get the address for them,” she said. “As soon as I did that… I turned around and both of them ran out my front door.”

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Ogbogu said she then jumped in her vehicle to follow them.

After stopping at the intersection of McMaster Boulevard and Whoop-Up Drive, things took a violent turn.

“I pulled my vehicle in front of theirs, I got out and proceeded to walk over to their car,” she said.

When she tried to open the door of the suspects’ vehicle, they took off.

“They dragged me for about 30 feet, at which point I fell and hit the ground,” Ogbogu explained. “He stopped and he looked at me for a second as if he was almost thinking about it and then he just continued going and he drove right up over my shoulder.”

Ogbogu was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Lethbridge police said the situation could have ended much worse.

“We would never advise anyone to chase after a subject or physically confront them in any way because you don’t know at the end of the day who you’re dealing with and what they’re capable of,” executive officer Kristen Harding said. “The last thing we want people to do is put themselves in harm’s way.”

Ogbogu said the suspects didn’t just steal from her, they stole from other families as well.

“I put my heart and my soul into these puppies and it’s just really sad that the only thing they see is dollar signs and they don’t see the broken families behind these puppies,” she said.

The puppies are three weeks old. Two are blue mantle, one is blue pied, one is blue brindle and one is blue fawn.

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Police are searching for a man and woman, both in their mid-20s, in connection with the theft.

The man is described as being approximately 5’7″ with a thin build and short hair. He was wearing glasses, a blazer with white writing, a white T-shirt and a baseball hat.

The woman is described as being approximately 5’4″ and 200 pounds with blond hair. She was wearing a lot of makeup, spandex pants, a tank top, green jacket and a baseball hat.

The vehicle is described as a newer-model silver Jeep – possibly a 2015 or 2016 model – with a broken driver’s side mirror.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Lethbridge police at 403-328-4444 or to contact Crime Stoppers.