Stolen Venice Dog Returns Home After Almost 2 Weeks Missing

VENICE, CA — Almost two weeks after she was stolen outside her Venice home, Bella the 9-year-old chihuahua sleeps peacefully on the lap of her owner Kylie Sanders while she works from home.

On April 8, Bella got out while her owner wasn't home, which led to many sleepless nights and busy days as Sanders and her boyfriend Jon Landre canvassed the streets of Venice searching for their dog. All of their efforts paid off in the end when the people who mistakenly took Bella discovered Sanders was looking for her.

After one of Sanders' many TikTok videos about Bella's abduction went viral, one of the four people who had taken her stumbled upon it and commented, "I have Bella, DM me." From there, Sanders said things went pretty fast.

"She gave me her address and we sped right there and we picked up the dog," Sanders said. "As soon as we got there as soon as that dog was in my arms, I was just beyond myself. I had no emotion besides relief."

Sanders said there is no bad blood between her and the people who had Bella the whole time. The people, Sanders said, were very apologetic and had taken good care of Bella while she was away by keeping her well-fed and even getting her groomed and fitting her with a new collar.

Though thankfully Bella and Sanders were reunited, Sanders said it was evident that they weren't looking for the dog's owner. Landre said that he is sure they didn't have any malicious intent when they took Bella, and blamed it on the lack of public knowledge of what to do in a situation like theirs.

"The girl was crying when she was giving up Bella saying how much she was going to miss her," Sanders said. "Even though I was super emotional, I told her, 'You know what? If you're ever in Venice and you want to see Bella, just text me.'"

Since Sanders and Landre have grown a small following after Bella's disappearance, they said they'd like to use their platform to help more people who could end up in similar situations. Landre said during their search for Bella, they learned just how complicated it really is to find the right information that can help connect people with their lost pets.

Despite the awful experience, the pair said they are passionate about taking what they learned and helping as many people as they can to prevent others from going through what they did. Sanders said she's now a part of more than 20 Facebook groups, on lists at local dog shelters and connected with so many people in the community that it would be a shame to not use her resources to help.

"It was the one of the most draining things I've ever had to do, to wake up and spend every minute of every day, all my effort, trying to find this little puppy," Sanders said. "If we can use our experience to help even one person it's worth it to do whatever we can."

Since Bella's return, Sanders said the chihuahua is doing well and sleeping a lot. Sanders said Bella acts like nothing happened and said the dog probably thought she was taking a vacation, though she could tell Bella had been a little anxious.

Now, when Sanders takes Bella out for walks people stop them and offer their congratulations. Sanders said Bella is enjoying being a local celebrity and is being spoiled endlessly, and her owners couldn't be more thankful for the support of their local community.

"I'm like, 'You don't even know what we had to go through to get you back,'" Sanders said. "She got to hang out in North Hollywood for a bit, but we're keeping her in Venice for the near future."