Police have launched a probe into an atypical dog missing case in West Hollywood.
They are investigating how a 10-foot-tall pink bulldog, wearing wearing sneakers on its front paws and a water bottle strapped onto its back, went missing from West Hollywood.
Authorities say the bulldog, made of polyurethane, was actually one of six sculptures placed last week in a busy Santa Monica Boulevard median ahead of last Sunday's gay pride parade.
They said the pink pooch was stolen early Monday, perhaps as a prank.
The bulldogs - three pink ones and three red ones - were made by Belgian artist William Sweetlove. The sculpture was scheduled to remain in place through September.
"They're so fun that people might not take them seriously," Los Angeles Times quoted Andrew Campbell of the West Hollywood Economic Development Division as saying.
"Maybe somebody didn't realise they were stealing artwork," Campbell said.
The statue's 91-kg base was left at the scene of crime. It took four installers to set up, Campbell said.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were expecting to review nearby stores' security tapes in hopes of tracking down the dog-nappers, the paper said.
Campbell declined to estimate the value of the statue: "We don't want to encourage anybody to steal the other five."
One of the representatives of Sweetlove said the artist is willing to give a frog statue worth USD 1,600 as a reward for the person who leads authorities to the missing bulldog.
"The theft might have been a joke, but it would be nice to have it back," Kris Ghesquiere said.
