At least seven French bulldogs were found dumped around Rancho Santa Fe in early June.
Rancho Santa Fe resident Sarah Thomas found one at the end of her driveway on Rambla de las Flores, just in time as two coyotes circled the small dog. After finding the dog, she learned that a few days earlier a neighbor on nearby El Arco Iris had found two male Frenchies at the trailhead and that a client’s sister had found two dogs across from Nick & G’s Restaurant in the village.
She pieced together the stories of seven Frenchies found and rescued over the course of a few weeks, all of the dogs less than one year old and none of them with identifying collars or microchips.
On June 8, Thomas had been heading out for a run with her Rhodesian Ridgeback around 6 a.m. when her dog was distracted by something running through the undergrowth. “I thought it was a cat because she was so tiny,” Thomas said. “It yelped and was terrified.”
A neighbor came out to help and they both chased away two coyotes that were circling the dog. The cream-colored pup had some puncture wounds and Thomas took her to Torrey Pines Animal Hospital.
The sweet young Frenchie, whom Thomas was calling Gracie, her son wanted to name Skittles, and the vet has dubbed Brûlée, is still at the hospital recovering. X-rays determined that she had been pregnant and due to her wounds, may have already been attacked by a coyote.
This French bulldog puppy was one of seven dogs found dumped in Rancho Santa Fe. (Sarah Thomas)
“They have really taken her in and are so in love with her. She is doing better every day,” said Thomas, who helped cover the medical bills along with her neighbor. “I will adopt her if she needs a home but if there is someone better suited to take her on, I’ll be happy to see her loved and cared for.”
The neighbor who found the two male dogs is also working with a rescue group to find them forever homes.
Unfortunately, they are no closer to discovering who dumped the dogs—Thomas checked around to see if anyone had camera footage that could help, but most people’s cameras are set too far back from the street to catch anything. In the middle of coyote territory, the Frenchies were fortunate to be rescued.
“I think they all will end up being adopted and having a much better life than they did before,” Thomas said.