English soccer player Daniel Sturridge posted an emotional plea for the return of his Pomeranian Lucci, which he says was stolen from the Hollywood Hills home where he is staying.
Sturridge posted a series of videos on his Instagram account early Tuesday morning, saying that his residence was broken into. His dog has its own Instagram account with the handle @luccidapoochie.
"Somebody stole my dog. I'll pay anything. I want him back," one of the captions of his posts said.
The account has more than 5,700 followers.
“The way he looks is quite prominently unique. My dog doesn’t look like any other dog," Sturridge told NBC4 outside the home Tuesday morning.
Sturridge said it appeared something was wrong when he returned home from bowling with friends and wasn't greeted by the friendly little dog. He then noticed a glass door completely shattered.
"It's just strange," Sturridge said outside his home. "To take a dog is a strange thing to do."
Los Angeles police told City News Service they received a call at about 1:30 a.m. Other personal property was taken from the home besides the dog, police said. No one was home at the time.
Another video showed what appeared to be surveillance video of three people walking inside the home.
"Burglary happened in the last 2 hours apparently 3 men stole my dog and 4 bags," read a caption on one of Sturridge's post.
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
"I want my dog back, and I'll pay whatever. It don't matter, it don't matter the cost," Sturridge said in one of the videos, offering to pay $20,000 to $30,000.
Sturridge expressed his top priority is to get his dog home, “He’s like a family member. I would never have expected this to happen.”
Sturridge played most recently for Liverpool F.C., last season's UEFA Champions League title winners and runners-up in the English Premier League.