Video: Have You Seen Zuzu and Burton?

When Amanda Denes came from work last February, she knew something was amiss when Zuzu and Burton — the dogs she owned since they were seven-and-a-week-old pups didn't come rushing to greet her at the door.

She checked the bedroom of her Hartford apartment and found it had been ransacked while she was working as an assistant communications professor at UConn-Storrs on Feb. 27. And the dogs weren't in the room.

Then she discovered her front door had been broken. Even though there was evidence the thieves may have wanted to steal her television, the only items missing were Zuzu and Burton, who turned three in April.

Denes said Hartrford Police have been "great" in trying to help her locate the dogs who have been missing for five months now.

She initially posted posters, flyers and notices on social media. "People at this point think they've been found. but they haven't," Denes told Patch. She fears the bulldog-schnauzer mixes that each weigh about 30 pounds, were taken by whoever broke into her apartment and kept by the thief, sold or given away.

"They could be anywhere in in Connecticut or the Northeast if they were taken and sold," Denes says. In her continuing effort to find the dogs "that are my whole world," Denes posted an emotional video on the 67 Patch sites in Connecticut in hopes of finding them.

In her tearful plea, Denes explains how Zuzu and Burton were the center of her life. "We included actual footage of the dogs … so many people have been helpful, calling to say they saw dogs that looked like them …" but it hasn't worked out, Denes said.

"I'm just heartbroken and lost without them. They were my whole world and it's been turned upside down, Denes said.

She's offering a hefty reward for any information that leads to bringing Zuzu and Burton home.

If you've seen Zuzu and Burton, call Denes at 973-865-4004 or 860-817-7772.