When Havoc the French bulldog disappeared, his owner unleashed an online army to find him
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Nobody knows what happened during the two years that a French bulldog named Havoc went missing.
What’s clear is that when Havoc slipped away from his North Hollywood home, he unleashed an army of dog sleuths onto the world.
His owner, Yasmine Hazeart, searched for him around her neighborhood and shared videos on social media of his precocious mug after he disappeared Jan. 13, 2023. To her, Havoc was more than an emotional support animal, but something akin to a child. She didn’t need to explain any further to other “Frenchie” lovers who joined in her search and became Havoc’s search party.
Strangers tagged Hazeart on social media posts about French bulldogs found, put up for adoption or reported missing. She even ended up rescuing two other French bulldogs during her search, naming them Havoc’s Doppleganger and Mayhem. The toy dog breed has become a darling favorite on social media and is considered the most popular dog based on registration statistics, according to the American Kennel Club.
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They are also highly sought after by thieves who are willing to steal dogs from their owners at gunpoint.
So, it wasn’t a stretch for Hazeart to think Havoc was stolen when he slipped away from Hazeart’s mother, Darlene, who was unable to give chase when the 3-year-old dog bolted. Hazeart, a professional makeup artist, made the search for her dog a full-time job.
She hired cadaver dog trainers to track down her dog’s scent and paid people to help spread the word about him online and in Los Angeles County. She contacted dog shelters in California and neighboring states, visited apartment buildings and homeless encampments around her neighborhood.
“I’m shocked at the amount of things that I was willing to do, honestly,” Hazeart, 33, said.
In Pacific Palisades, few residents have been allowed into the area to search for pets. Nonprofit animal welfare groups have also, generally, not been allowed to search.
The search became her obsession. She lost her appetite, couldn’t sleep and eventually was hospitalized due to the stress. She took a six-month leave from work and her relationship with her mother suffered. Amid all of the stress, she kept receiving notifications from Havoc’s army — online sleuths who were alerting her to every French bulldog who happened to be posted online. But for two years all of those tips led to dead ends.
The online army became her support group and pushed her.
“I was struggling, and they really helped me make up for what I could no longer emotionally handle,” she said.
Then nearly 800 days after he went missing, Havoc appeared outside Windie Petersen’s home in Apple Valley.
Petersen went around her street asking her neighbors if anyone was missing a dog.
Hazeart didn’t see the Facebook photo Petersen posted about Havoc, asking for the public’s help but online sleuth LeRae DeRasmo in Las Vegas saw it. She and several other members of Havoc’s army messaged Hazeart. DeRasmo messaged Petersen a series of questions to confirm it was Havoc.
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“I’ve been looking at his face and pictures online for over two years,” DeRasmo said. “I mean, I remember what his teeth looked like.”
Petersen, who has her own French bulldog named Festus, was unaware about Havoc’s story, but soon learned the pooch was about 100 miles away from his home in North Hollywood.
Hazeart asked Petersen about his behavior and the white diamond patch on his chest. She was still unsure about this dog and didn’t want to get her hopes up. Petersen was then contacted by a neighbor who said their French bulldog ran away and tried to claim Havoc as their own.
Petersen and her husband, Terry, wanted to make sure they were going to return the dog home to its rightful owner so they took the mystery dog to the Apple Valley Animal Shelter to have its pet microchip scanned.
At the shelter, Havoc’s reputation preceded him, animal services technician Christie Hampton said. Hazeart’s campaign for her dog was well-known among some of the staff.
“I thought to myself, ‘Oh wow, this could be Havoc?’ ” Hampton said.
Hazeart read off the unique 15-digit microchip code over Petersen’s speaker phone at the shelter.
The number was a match to Havoc.
“I started screaming, crying,” Hazeart said. “It’s like I almost blacked out in that moment.”
Hazeart drove to Apple Valley to get her dog. When Havoc heard his owner’s voice, he leaped out of Petersen’s arms and ran to Hazeart. Everyone at the Petersen home had a good cry, Hazeart said.
It’s still not clear how the dog ended up in Apple Valley — whether he walked the entire way or was picked up by someone. His story was first reported by news station KTLA-TV.
Havoc’s return means that Hazeart can finally start rebuilding her relationship with her mother. She thinks about all the possibilities that had to happen for him to come home and credits the Petersen family, the online sleuths and the animal shelter team who checked Havoc’s microchip.
“They’re all literal angels,” Hazeart said. “I stopped enjoying life. I lost my sparkle and I lost a lot of happiness but now I can finally breathe and get back to who I was.”
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