Man accused of stealing, killing family’s 10-year-old bulldog

LAS VEGAS — Authorities in Las Vegas on Wednesday arrested a man accused of stealing a family’s pet bulldog, killing it and dumping the animal in a desert field, according to multiple reports.

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Police on Wednesday arrested Diego Gonzalez on animal cruelty charges after officials said that surveillance video showed him taking the bulldog, KSNV reported. Gonzalez had been working at a home earlier this month when the home’s owner told authorities that the family’s bulldog, Bamboo, went missing, according to the news station.

Video from nearby homes showed Gonzalez and at least one other employee of Gonzalez Flooring taking Bamboo and putting the dog into Gonzalez’s truck, the Las Vegas Review-Journal and KLAS reported. Gonzalez claimed that he felt bad that the dog had been left alone and asked one of his employees to put Bamboo inside his truck as he worked, KLAS reported. He said he later left the dog in the neighborhood for fear that the animal was microchipped, according to the news station.

Gonzalez told authorities that he planned to take the dog to his kids, KSNV reported. He later said that he thought Bamboo had died in his truck, the Review-Journal reported, citing an arrest report. Video showed the dog’s body was dumped in an empty lot about three and a half hours after Bamboo was abducted, according to KLAS and the Review-Journal.

Gonzalez denied having hurt or killed Bamboo, KSNV reported. Officials determined that the dog died of acute respiratory distress and acute blunt force trauma, according to KLAS.

Gonzalez was released on a $3,000 bond on Thursday, according to the Review-Journal and KLAS. He is scheduled to appear in court again in July.

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