Louisiana Tech Mascot Goes Missing

Have You Seen Me?

Louisiana Tech University’s beloved mascot Tech XX, the 4-year-old English bulldog and face of the university, has gone missing and was last seen Sunday evening by a worker at the animal clinic where he was staying.

Tech XX was let out at for a potty break at about 8 p.m. at the northeast Ruston clinic. When the worker came to let Tech XX, who preferred to do his business in private, back in he was nowhere to be found.

“He wasn’t outside five minutes and he was gone,” said Dr. Patrick Sexton, caretaker for Tech XX and owner of the animal clinic where he was last seen.

Sexton, who is offering a $2,000 reward for the dog’s safe return, said it would be out of character for Tech XX to wander off. Tech XX isn’t an outdoorsy dog. Rather, he prefers the comforts of home unless he is at a sporting event.

“He would much rather be in the air conditioning than roaming outside,” he said.Tech XX was named mascot in 2008 – he was just a three-month-old pup at the time. Tech XIX retired due to health concerns.

Across Ruston on Monday, students and community members distributed fliers. They also worked to spread the word of the missing mascot through social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #FindTechXX.

“We’re trying everything we can to get the word out,” said Will Dearmon, Student Government Association president at Louisiana Tech. “As many people as we can get to search for him and bring him home safely, the better.”

Dearmon said Tech XX isn’t just a dog to the Ruston community and Tech family.”He’s not just a regular bulldog,” Dearmon said. “He embodies the legacy of the bulldog, the history of the university … he’s an emblem of everything great about Tech.”

For Sexton, Tech XX is a larger-than-life family member, who recently grew out of his signature Tech jersey.

“There’s a void without him around,” Sexton said.

While Sexton hopes the dog wasn’t stolen, he is most concerned about the unknown.

“It’s so hot and to not know whether he was taken or is lost or something else completely is scary,” he said. “I just want to know he’s OK.”

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Tech XX is asked to call Sexton Animal Health Clinic at (318) 251-8283.