A missing pit bull is raising questions about the motives behind dog theft......and whether dog fighting is becoming a reality in Peoria.

Five–month–old Pillow is home safe now after her owner says someone stole the dog and her brother T–bone last week.
Lindsey Koch says dog fighting may have been a motive.

"I had let my dogs out to go to the bathroom...I went out and checked and they were gone," said Koch.

Koch says she posted signs offering a $100 reward for her dogs...that's when Pillow was returned.

"Someone called and said they found my little girl and that they bought her off of two teenagers."

With 2–year–old T–bone still missing Koch called the police.

"He said they might be fighting him by now. He's a really sweet dog and I would hate to think they'd be using him for fighting."

"We talked to several police officers who work the districts. They, in turn, have heard different things from the streets but we have no way to substantiate what they're saying," said Ann Ruggles of the Peoria Police Department.

But Officer Ruggles says in the past year, 63 dogs have been reported stolen—with about a third of those dogs being pit bulls or a mix.
Some of them end up at PAWS, the local animal shelter.

"It's very, very difficult to identify and prosecute on dog fighting because most of the time there's no witness or no way to prove where the fight took place," said Kitty Yanko of the Peoria Humane Society.

"It's something a neighborhood should not tolerate. They should not tolerate child abuse, they should not tolerate elder abuse, and they should not tolerate animal abuse," said Ruggles.

And Koch is hoping that's not the case...and she wants anyone with information to help bring T–bone home.

The Humane Society is encouraging owners to get the proper identification for their pets, have them microchipped, and never leave them unattended outside.