Hoffman Estates man offers $1,000 for safe return of puppies

Alvin Clark's been crying for days.

"And I'm a grown man," the Hoffman Estates resident said.

Clark, 25, has been struggling to deal with the theft of his two pit bull puppies earlier in the week.

A pair of youngsters were seen on Monday hopping Clark's back fence on the 600 block of Lakeview Drive and scooping the dogs up before driving away in a Ford pickup. That's all the information Clark received when he returned home from work to check on his dogs during his lunch break.

He's offering a $1,000 reward for the safe return of Magu and Chulo.

"It's more important to me than the money," said Clark, who works at Woodfield Chevrolet.

Each dog weighs about 50 pounds and is 7 months old. He and his girlfriend drove down in August to a place near the Kentucky border to get the dogs as a birthday present for himself.

The puppies have escaped from the yard before but hung out near the home until Clark retrieved them. This time, though, a Hoffman Estates public works employee told Clark that he saw the dogs being taken from the yard. He said he didn't realize they were being stolen.

After Clark talked to the public works employee, he cruised the area, determined to find the truck. He didn't think to notify Hoffman Estates police until 7:45 p.m., too late for police to properly canvass the area. Police Sgt. Greg Poulos suggested that people should immediately report a crime.

Clark also enlisted help at Midwest Rescue of Illinois, a group in the Hoffman Estates area that finds homes for pit bulls.

"He was just devastated," said the group's Jennifer Mohr, adding that pit bull thefts are more common than people realize.

Clark lives near Lakeview Elementary School, and when he walked the puppies, children regularly lined up to pet them.

He's concerned about how his dogs are being treated because some pit bulls endure abuse as they are trained for dog fights.

"Now that they took them, what are the going to do with them?" Clark said.

Magu is dark gray with spots of white on his paws, while Chulo is sand colored. If anyone has any information about the dogs, call Clark at (708) 307-9782.