Some lost dogs in state returned dyed, shaved

Marcus, a skittish and small 8-year-old Shih Tzu mix, ran out of an open door in New Haven on April 19. Five days later, Marcus was reunited with his owner but looked very different: He had been dyed purple.

Melanie Heltke, a volunteer with Connecticut Dog Gone Recovery Volunteers, said whoever took the dog may have been planning on keeping it, so they dyed the dog’s fur to change its appearance. The organization helps owners throughout the state find their missing dogs.

“I never would have thought it was the same dog,” she said of Marcus, who is one of three cases of missing dogs in the past month that returned with altered appearances, according to Patti Hawkins, a board member and administrator with the organization.

“It’s been a trend lately,” said Hawkins, who has been with the organization since its start in 2013. “It’s just another hurdle that we have to get over to help bring these dogs home.”

New Haven Police Officer Christian Bruckhart said the department was not aware of the incident with Marcus.

Hawkins said the organization wants to inform dog owners that if their pet has gone missing, their furry friend could have been altered.

Many cases of missing dogs are resolved when someone finds the dog. But if someone describes a dog and the owner doesn’t think it’s their dog due to different markings, Hawkins said to go check — just in case.

“It could be your dog,” she said. “You really have to go in person to see the dog.”

One of the other dogs to be returned with altered an appearances this month was Mocho, a black-and-cream 3-year-old French bulldog who went missing from the Hartford area on March 13. She was reunited with her owner on Monday with her tan markings dyed black.

Donna Russo, a volunteer who worked on Mocho’s case, noted that French bulldogs are valuable. The breed, on average, costs between $1,500 to $3,000, according to MarketWatch.com. It has also been dubbed the most popular dog breed in 2022 and 2023 by the American Kennel Club.

Russo said it was possible someone wanted to breed the dog, but “they found out that it was spayed, so it was no value to them, and that’s why they released it.”