OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — A 14-year-old boy was walking his French bulldog when men armed with a gun demanded that the boy hand over his pet.

“Bella” the Frenchie was still missing on Friday evening following the August 2 dognapping. Bella is a female French bulldog with brindle-colored fur.

Karmen Ayala said the frightening incident happened while her son was walking just outside their apartment complex on Foothill Boulevard in Oakland.

“He noticed a vehicle driving really slow, so he obviously started to walk back home. But the vehicle pulled up on him, asking for our Bella,” Ayala said.

When the boy said “no,” one man in the car brandished a gun and said, “I’m going to need you to hand me the dog,” according to Ayala. “The passenger got out of the car and took out a gun. My son for his own safety had to surrender her to them,” she said.

The boy tried to record the thieves’ vehicle as they drove away with Bella, but “my son got really nervous they would come back and hurt him. So he didn’t get a good recording,” Ayala said.

The vehicle was described as a newer-model black Volkswagen Jetta with lightly tinted windows and chrome window frames. Bella’s owners filed a police report with the Oakland Police Department.

French bulldogs have increasingly become targets for thieves around the San Francisco Bay Area. Puppies of this adorable breed can be expensive and it appears thieves have caught on. Stolen dogs are resold for quick cash from unsuspecting buyers. Breeders say the Bay Area’s Frenchie community is tight-knit, but the search for stolen dogs is difficult.