Some very expensive bulldogs are missing in Barren County.

An area family is searching for ten missing bulldog puppies after the pups were stolen from their kennel late last week.

That makes this Mother's Day a bittersweet one for Anna Trulock.

"When you hold them, they're like a baby. Its just like raising a baby," she says.

Trulock has had several of her "babies" stolen from her kennel's nursery.

"Thursday night we had a female expecting babies. I went to bed about 11:30 and got up about 3 o'clock to check on her," she explains.

The pregnant dog was in the nursery but she discovered her other dog cages were empty.

Trulock tells WBKO she believes one of the culprits stood on top of a garbage can and pushed in the air conditioner, climbed inside and then handed out the puppies, one-by-one to a waiting accomplice.

Now the ten bulldogs... worth an estimated 20,000... are gone.

Sadly, its a feeling Trulock knows all too well.

Last fall, five adult female dogs were stolen from her old kennel.

"We got 3 of them back. One of them was dead and there was one still missing. Some of the boys who stole them, they caught them with drugs on them," Trulock says.

She emphasizes that these dogs have special needs, so its important that they're properly cared for.

"They can't take the hot weather. They have to have air conditioning because their noses are so short and its hard for them to breathe in the hot weather," Trulock notes.

She says its been a rough couple of days since the puppies were stolen.

"It hurts. I haven't slept... I haven't slept much since they've been gone," says Trulock.

The Barren County Sheriff's Department doesn't have any leads in the case right now.

The Trulocks are offering a $1,000 reward to anyone with any information about these missing dogs.

If you or anyone else know anything, you are urged to call the Barren County Sheriff's Department at (270) 651-2771, or the Trulocks (270) 678-7943.

You can also email Anna Trulock at annatrulock@scrtc.com