$5K Reward: Station Mascot Dog Still Missing Since Creek Fire

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, CA – A $5,000 reward is offered and a Saturday search effort planned for "Taco," a French bulldog and fire station mascot that went missing during the recent Creek Fire evacuations in Los Angeles County.

Three-year-old Taco, a black-and-brown brindle with white markings, belongs to U.S. Forest Service Fire Captain Joel Gonzalez and girlfriend Cristina Lorenzo, who live with Taco, along with their other two dogs, on the Little Tujunga Fire Station property.

Gonzalez and Lorenzo were traveling when the fires broke out and early morning evacuations began in the Kagel Canyon region. For safety, Lorenzo's brother took the three dogs to her parents' Lake View Terrace home. While the dogs were in the parents' backyard, however, Taco somehow went missing or escaped from the residence, which is in the Remington Street and Eldridge Avenue neighborhood, near Fenton Avenue Elementary School.

To find their much-missed pup, the couple has contacted area shelters, posted Taco's information on lost-pet sites and social media, hung signs and even went door-to-door in the Lake View Terrace area, but to no avail.

A $5,000 reward also is being offered, Lorenzo said. And a GoFundMe campaign, "Fire Captain's Dog: HELP FIND TACO," is underway to help raise additional reward money. In addition, a Facebook page Help Find Taco was created.

On Saturday, Dec. 16, at 1 p.m. Gonzalez, Lorenzo and supporters are organizing a "search and rescue" event, beginning at Hubert Humphrey Park at 12560 Filmore St. in Pacoima, with plans to knock on doors and post flyers at major intersections. The public is welcome to attend and lend a hand.

Lorenzo is hoping that whoever found Taco has no idea anyone is looking for him or they fell in love and decided to keep the little guy.

The couple's other two dogs seem to be missing Taco, as well, she said. May, also a French bulldog and Taco's "best friend," is uncharacteristically calm, Lorenzo said, adding that their third dog, a Lab-mix named Obie, continually cries and tries to get out of the house since Taco disappeared.

"They see me cry, so they know that something's very wrong," she said.

Lorenzo said Taco is friendly, loves people and is a regular fixture at the fire station. "Everybody knows him," she said."He's like their mascot."

One initial possible sighting placed Taco near a 7-Eleven on Sunburst Street in Lake View Terrace, but despite searching, the dog was not found.

Anyone with information on Taco can call Lorenzo at (818) 302-9944.

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--Images via Cristina L.