Diana Alvarado knows thieves are always looking for ways to swipe items around the holiday season.
When she walked into her home on La Joya on Friday afternoon, she immediately knew her home had been targeted.
"There were doors open in odd places and immediately I was on alert," Alvarado said.
Her worst fears were confirmed when she made it back to the master bedroom to find it ransacked and a window had been forced open.
The thief (or thieves) got away with jewelry, electronics and the surprises she and her husband planned for their two young daughters this season.
"It looks like they took everything out through the window," she said. "We found Christmas bows in the backyard and alley."
That's right. All the gifts were gone. And Alvarado says that wasn't even close to the most upsetting part.
"The house was way too quiet. Where was Smokey?"
Smokey is the family's not quite 2-year old pocket American Bully, a smaller version of the stout bulldog.
"He's a part of our family, a very important part," Alvarado said. "They just took a member of our family."
Alvarado took to Facebook and posted a $500 reward for the safe return of "Smokey" that she says neighbors quickly helped increase to $1500 this weekend.
Right now they have a surveillance image from across the street that shows a maroon SUV and an unknown man approaching the home.
Alvarado says she hopes the outpouring of support from neighbors and "missing dog" fliers her daughters made will help bring "Smokey" back home.
"I just hope that they (burglar) can find it in their heart to return Smokey,” she said.