Stolen French bulldog returned to Glendale owner as kidnapper arrested

PHOENIX — A French bulldog that was stolen from its owner in Glendale has been returned and the kidnapper has been arrested, authorities said Monday.

Eduardo Hidalgo-Mendez is accused of taking the $4,000 dog after getting into an altercation with the owner in a manufactured home park near 63rd and Maryland avenues on Oct. 5, according to court documents.

Three weeks later, police received a tip from a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office intelligence analyst that Hidalgo-Mendez had video chatted with an inmate about the dog and his plans to sell it and the car, a blue Chevy Equinox, involved in the incident.

Images of the dog and injuries Hidalgo-Mendez sustained during the altercation with the owner matched those retrieved from the call, according to court documents.

Hidalgo-Mendez was arrested Thursday at his residence.

The dog, whose name is Niño, was found in good health and eventually reunited with its owners.

Hidalgo-Mendez was booked into jail on one count of trafficking the stolen property of another, one count of robbery, one count of theft and one count of endangerment.

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