A string of pet thefts in recent weeks in the Hollywood Hills and Mount Olympus neighborhoods has residents keeping an extra watchful eye on their furry friends.
Jacqueline Bucci's 9-year-old Imperial Shih Tzu Charlie was the first of three dogs to disappear in the area.
"He's my partner in crime," Bucci said. "Everyday, I just try to do something to keep looking for him, so it just doesn't go away."
Bucci last saw Charlie the morning of Jan. 23 in front of her home in the Hollywood Hills near Runyon Canyon.
"I turned for one minute to go inside and grab my cat who had run outside," she said. "When I came back he was gone."
Bucci spent the rest of the day looking for Charlie. After several hours, a construction worker who was working on a home nearby told her he had seen a woman in a black Toyota Prius scoop up a small dog matching Charlie's description from the road.
A similar story surrounded the disappearance of Elliott and Diane Wang's dog Bear Bear. Their 8-year-old miniature poodle escaped from the Banks' home on Jan. 29. A neighbor saw a woman described in her 50s with shoulder-length hair, driving a white Toyota Camry or Corolla allegedly pick up Bear Bear and drive off with the pooch.
In the latest nabbing, surveillance video recorded a person snatching Jack Russell terrier Junebug on Feb. 10. The thief was seen hiding in the bushes before grabbing Junebug when her owner ran inside the home for a minute, leaving the pooch outside.
But Junebug was reunited with her owner on Wednesday. Details about how Junebug was returned to her family were not immediately clear.
Bucci set up a Facebook page for her missing four-legged friend, hoping to help spread the word about Charlie's disappearance and bring him home.
Volunteer Helen Trimble, who describes herself as deeply invested in reuniting pet owners with their lost pets, has also posted similar information on the missing dogs on a Facebook page she moderates called "Lost and Found Paws in Los Angeles Metro Area."
Bucci said she is thankful for all the work Trimble has done to help reunite her with Charlie.
Until the dogs are brought home, the neighborhoods where they lived will remain blanketed with colorful lost dog posters and their information will continue to be posted on social media, Trimble said.
Anyone with information regarding the missing pooches may contact Trimble via her Facebook page.