Three dogs stolen at gunpoint in Logan Square

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago breeder is hoping for the safe return of three dogs stolen by armed thieves in the city's Logan Square neighborhood.

Two one-year-old pit bulls, Zappy and Barracuda, and their mother Black Gold were all stolen in a terrifying encounter.

"I start to tell him, 'Don't shoot me! Don't shoot me! Take whatever you want!'" Julio Nieves said.

Nieves says Thursday morning he was in the garage doing work when three masked men approached.

"He keeps the gun here to my head, keeps saying, 'Don't move! Don't move!'" Julio said.

The men appeared to know what they wanted, heading to the family's backyard kennel and bypassing several dogs to take the most valuable: the family of pit bulls each worth upwards of $15,000.

"We are animal lovers," said Marilyn Nieves. "These dogs go to shows. They've been in events. We do love them. We care for them."

Zappy and Barracuda are especially valuable because they're both pregnant. Their pups will fetch thousands more.

"We started what we call our own bloodline," Marilyn said. "It takes time for us, years, to come up with our own bloodline."

Before leaving, Nieves says one of the robbers fired a shot, leaving behind a shell casing.

"Maybe they're trying to tell me it's a real gun," Julio said.

"If he would have stood up and defended, they were willing to take away a life," Marilyn said.

Julio Nieves was not hurt in the encounter. The three men, he says, were wearing masks but appeared to be in their late teens or early 20s.