Remains of French bulldogs found in crab pots as police investigate 'personal' attack

The owner of two French bulldogs has been left heartbroken after the remains of her beloved dogs were reportedly found in crab pots. Now, Alaskan police are investigating the killings as a "personal" attack against the owner.

ABC affiliate KTLV reported that the dog's remains were discovered by Alaskan Wildlife Troopers on Friday during a routine inspection. "While conducting routine shellfish pot inspections near Thorne Bay, AWT Ketchikan located two crab pots near the Thorne Bay Harbor," a dispatch from the troopers read. "Each crab pot both contained the remains of a domesticated dog."

It was reported by the dispatch that the pups, who were brothers by the names of Yoda and Whiskey, had been missing since February 13, 2025. "The two French bulldogs had gone missing on 2/13/2025 in Thorne Bay and their owners had been actively searching for them," the post continued. "Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of the bulldogs are encouraged to contact the Prince Of Wales AWT Post at 907-826-2291."

Esther Martin, the owner of the dogs, is heartbroken at the loss of the pair. “Honestly, I’m still a little in disbelief,” Martin said. “They were the sweetest dogs you’d have ever met. They would have jumped in a vehicle with anybody.”

Martin told the outlet that on the day of the dog's disapperance, they had been with her husband and brother-in-law while at an active logging unit, they were working near Thorne Bay. During the pair's 9:30 a.m. break, both husband and brother-in-law realized the pooches were missing.

“The dogs have gone to work with them every single day since we got them back in June. So it was very uncommon of them to disappear the way they did,” Martin said. “We were immediately suspicious but had hoped that they would return on their own, and it just took longer and longer.”

According to Martin, the pair finished working five hours later and the dogs had still not returned. “My brother-in-law searched throughout the night. He went back to the same area multiple times after they got done working,” Martin told the outlet. “We left items of clothing, we left their dog beds, we left food. We rode around on the quad for days just searching every road, every muskeg, every trail and they were just gone.”

In an act of sheer desperation to see the pups again, the family offered a $1,000 reward and a no-questions-asked return. After it was announced that the dogs had perished, the devastated family upped the reward to $2,500 for any information leading to the discovery of someone responsible.

Prior to the news, Martin and her family had not discounted the possibility that the two dogs may have been attacked by a wolf. “They were friendly beyond measure and when I think about just their final moments, I hope it was swift,” Martin lamented. “I can’t think about it too long because they were so sweet and they were so loved.”

Martin stated that she believed that the crab pots were unmarked and the dogs were in separate pots not too far away from each other. To her knowledge, there were no markings or leads on the buoys for the pots.

In the hopes of catching the perpetrator, troopers lowered the pots back into the water in the hopes that someone might come by and check the pots or pull them up.“What I was told is that someone went back in the night and pulled them or cut the ropes or something because those pots were no longer in that area when AWT went back out to check them,” Martin said.