‘We would like to have her back’: Richmond woman claims her family’s emotional support dog was stolen

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Richmond woman spoke out after she claims her family’s emotional support dog was stolen.

Antonia Brown said her family’s 8-year-old pit bull and bulldog mix named Brixx was taken from her yard on Wednesday, April 17.

She said Brixx is her cousin’s dog that she’s been caring for since January. She said Brixx disappeared in the evening.

“The dog kind of wandered. And next thing you know the dog was gone,” Brown said. “We’d searched up until 3 a.m., from about 9:15 ’til 3 a.m. We searched the neighborhood everywhere, screaming and yelling.”

Brown said this hit her family extra hard because Brixx is a certified emotional support animal.

“My granddaughter has seizures. So, she does spend a lot of time with the dog,” Brown said. “Essentially, when she was diagnosed with epilepsy, at the age of two, the dog is a coping mechanism for her.”

Brown believes Brixx was stolen because other animals have gone missing nearby.

“There has been a total of seven other dogs and four cats [that went] missing in this particular neighborhood. So, I’m not sure if we’re being targeted in this neighborhood,” Brown said.

Brown said she’s filed a police report and is trying her best to get Brixx back.

“Our animal is a very important part of our life. We would like to have her back.” Brown said. “She’s a very, very special animal to us. She’s more so like having one of the children gone than having an actual animal gone.”

Brown said her family is offering a $3,000 dollar reward for anyone who might have any information about where Brixx is.

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