Novato resident Candace
Haenggi, 50, is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who finds Alex, her
1-year-old pug stolen Oct. 18 from inside the
Civic
Center dog park while her dog walker rounded up the
pets under her care.
Haenggi has received
several tips from people who believe they saw Alex in Terra Linda after
the owner plastered the area with flyers featuring a reward and the
dog's photo, but so far she doesn't have him back.
"Never in a million years
did I think this would happen," said Haenggi, who gets weepy whenever
someone mentions Alex. "I could understand if he was tied up somewhere,
but he was actually kidnapped."
News of the bold crime
stunned other dog owners.
"I think that
person is scummy," said
San Rafael resident Ann Morey, 42, who was at the
Civic
Center
|
|
|
 |
-->
 |
|
|
|
Missing: Alex the pug has been stolen and a reward has been offered.
(Family photo) |
|
|
|
dog park yesterday with
her mixed breed mutt Rudy. "It's big drama at the
dog park yesterday
with her mixed breed mutt Rudy. "It's big drama at the dog park."
The pug-napper is
described as a pretty woman who dresses well and is in her late 30s or
early 40s, about 5 foot 3 inches tall, 125 pounds and has dirty blond
hair. She may have a brown
Chihuahua and drive a silver or gray
Toyota sedan.
Haenggi, a flight
attendant and mother of a 9-year-old daughter, bought Alex last year
when he was just a puppy. Friends and family watched him for the first
few months while she was away on flights, but that became a burden on
them so she found a woman who could take him during the day and night.
Haenggi said the woman,
Lido Walker, was perfect; she was friendly and Alex had a good time
playing with her animals.
Walker is away on vacation and was unavailable for comment.
"We never had a problem
and he loved going there," Haenggi said.
On Oct. 18.,
Walker took Alex and a couple other dogs to the
Civic
Center dog park around 9:30 a.m., Haenggi said. A woman
with a brown
Chihuahua started talking to
Walker and asking a lot of questions about Alex, then offered
to watch him while
Walker rounded up the other dogs.
When
Walker turned around, the woman was gone and so was Alex.
Haenggi said
Walker desperately searched the area and reported the
incident to police, but to no avail.
Making matters worse,
Haenggi didn't return home from work until Oct. 20 and she hadn't
checked her phone messages.
"When I got home there was a frantic message from her," Haenggi said.
"She said he was stolen and I didn't understand it."
Haenggi went over the entire story with
Walker and did all she could, including search the area, but
there was nothing to be done.
"She was hysterical," Haenggi said. "I told her it wasn't her fault."
Haenggi said the worst part was telling her daughter Kristen. Haenggi
told Kristen that Alex went away to find a girlfriend, but fessed up
after Kristen got up and went into the bathroom.
"She was sobbing," Haenggi said. "I had to tell her the truth."
Marin Humane Society Animal Services Director Capt. Cindy Machado said
only one or two dogs are reported stolen from someone's possession every
year. She said pet thefts frequently involve an expensive breed, such as
the pit bull, that can be resold or family matters such as a man
stealing a dog from his ex-wife, but rarely something like what happened
to Haenggi.
"It's very
heart-breaking," she said.
Haenggi said
Walker gave her $1,000 because she felt bad. The money is
being used as a reward, but no amount of money could replace him, she
said. "He was my daughter's first dog," she said.
In addition to the
fliers, Haenggi and Kristen tried to find Alex at the Halloween costume
contest that was part of the October "Pug Sunday," a monthly event
founded by
Novato resident Jett Crain as a way for pug owners to show
off their pets and meet each other. There were about 100 pug owners and
their pets at the event, but Alex wasn't among them.
"If they're smart, they
wouldn't be here with it," Crain said. "The pug community is pretty
small."
Crain said pug owners are tight across the country; just yesterday, she
got an e-mail warning owners to be on the lookout for a pug who was
stolen from a car in
Texas. She said most pug owners would walk up and talk to a
stranger if they had a pug, so there is a good chance a fellow pug owner
could come across Alex.
"Everybody's got their antenna up," Crain said.
Haenggi isn't a member of the "Pug Sunday" group, but Crain asked her
and Kristen to be honorary judges of the Halloween contest so they could
have a little fun and get their minds off Alex.
"Elvis won," said Haenggi, referring to a dog dressed as the King. "It
helped."
