HOUSTON – Sunnyside resident Kwann Boyd lost her son to gun violence in 2022. Less than two years later, she is hoping she hasn’t lost another loved one.
Boyd has had her dog, Pucci, for around three years after ordering her from South Korea. She is named after Boyd’s favorite fashion designer, Emilio Pucci, and she is a White-Cream Small Maltipoo. Pucci’s only around four pounds, and she rarely traveled far from home.
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Pucci went missing April 8 around 10 a.m. near the intersection of Scott Street and Reed Road in the Sunnyside neighborhood.
After becoming anxious about Pucci’s whereabouts, Boyd posted signs around the area to see if anyone would report finding her dog, offering a cash reward as an incentive. Instead of helping her search, several callers have only made things worse.
Boyd says she has received several “prank calls” stemming from her signs. Callers have also claimed to have the dog in attempts to steal the reward money.
“I’ve had phone calls of people pranking and saying silly stuff. Obviously, people have called trying to get the money,” Boyd said.
She also met up with a caller who claimed to have her dog at an apartment complex. She said she believes she would’ve been robbed if she hadn’t been armed during the encounter.
“I stayed behind [the caller] and made it very obvious that I had a gun in my waist. That’s the only reason they didn’t rob me,” Boyd said.
Not every call Boyd has received has had callous intent. A woman reached out with a Ring doorbell camera that seemed to show a small dog running into a ditch before a car slowed down and picked it up. It’s unclear whether the dog in the footage was Pucci, though.
“I don’t have any hard feelings,” Boyd said, addressing Pucci’s potential captor. “If you don’t want to give her back, at least take care of her.”
On top of searching for Pucci, Boyd is also searching for justice for her son.
Boyd’s 29-year-old son, Avery, was murdered in December of 2022. He was getting out of his car when a man in a black hoodie emerged from a vehicle and shot him several times.
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His case remains unsolved. Boyd says the last update she had was that authorities were trying to get into Avery’s phone. As far as she knows, nobody has been interviewed, and the person of interest hasn’t been asked for a sworn statement.
As the days turn into months and the updates from law enforcement dwindle, she is losing faith in the diligence of the investigation.
“If it’s not on camera, and it’s not on the phone, and someone doesn’t snitch, then it won’t get solved,” Boyd said. “I’m very, very, very frustrated. I’m almost wondering if there’s some corruption going on.”
With Avery gone, Boyd is hoping that Pucci will turn up, so she can be reunited with the only family she has left.
“[Pucci] was the last piece of my heart I had left,” Boyd said. “It’s a small piece, but it’s a piece. My son took most of it. I realize I’ll never have grandkids because my son didn’t have any children. I always had in the back of my head, ‘if something happens to Pucci, I’ll really die.”
As of Tuesday, Pucci has not been found. Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is encouraged to contact HomeAgain Pet Recovery at 713-878-4465.