Lucci break: Daniel Sturridge’s stolen dog returned after emotional social media plea

Lucci, arguably the world’s most famous Pomeranian, has been returned to ex-Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge after he was stolen in a robbery at the England football international’s Los Angeles home this week.

Sturridge immediately took to social media once he realized that the pup had been taken in the burglary, offering a £30,000 reward for the safe return of the dog in a video message. 

“Listen, whoever knows who broke into my crib I’ll pay you anything,” Sturridge says in the video. “I’m dead serious. I want to know who took my sh*t, I want to know what’s went on, I want to know why they’ve took my dog. I want to know why they’ve took bags from upstairs. 

“Yo, somebody please find my dog. I’ll pay anything, I’m dead serious. I want my dog back, man.”

After this plea and even appearances on local US television, it seems as though Sturridge’s prayers have been answered. 

A further video surfaced on Twitter which appeared to show Lucci safe and with a child and, after efforts were made to confirm its identity, the dog was returned to its master.

The Los Angeles Police Department had even joined in the hunt, though they confirmed to US media that they were not involved in Lucci’s retrieval but also that the people who returned the dog were not involved in the original theft. 

Sturridge contacted the person publicly on social media asking for a video of the dog’s markings and identity tag before organizing the details of the reward.