Thanks to Community Dog Randi for barking over this article from Auburn-Reporter.com.

Thieves took the car, and the little dog, too
by By ROBERT WHALE

D’Ann Lally nearly has worn herself out looking.

Not so much for the car stolen from her April 16 as she grabbed a bite to eat at the Muckleshoot Casino restaurant before heading home to Eugene, Ore.

Auburn police found the Toyota Camry abandoned on M Street Northeast on April 20, its interior trashed in an apparent joyride.

What police didn’t find was Teddi Sue, the 4-month-old miniature Chihuahua-pinscher Lally had left in a cart in the back seat when she was inside the restaurant.

Lally’s heart is broken.

“My whole life is on hold,” Lally said. “She is my baby. She means more to me than the car.”

Lally has devoted nearly every waking hour since to looking for the little black and tan dog.

Stranded, Lally spent her first night in a local hotel room, using up all of her cash on hand. A friend of her brother’s then allowed her to stay at her home in Federal Way and use her computer and phones to get the word out about her dog.

Lally’s host, Lori Batinik, doesn’t own any dogs, but sympathized with the Oregon woman’s plight.

“It’s horrible,” Batinik said. “I can’t believe somebody would steal her car with her dog in there. I mean, it’s great she got her car back, but she cares more about the dog,”

Along the way, Lally has found a lot of friends. One of her best friends since the theft has been the Web site Dogster.com, whose “Dogster Pals” have made her cause their cause, her pain their pain.

“All these Dogster people have been working day and night, all day long sending out e-mails. There’s this big thread going about Teddi-Sue that’s probably about 15 pages long. People have been making phone calls and e-mails, anything they can do to get the word out about her. It’s unbelievable. People I have never met all over the country are helping me,” Lally said.

“… One of my closest Dogster Pals is Fed-Exing some money up to me so I can stay here and keep looking for her so I don’t have to go back home right away. I am just overwhelmed,” Lally said.

Dogster.com also opened up Pay Pal account, affording her money she needs to continue her search.

Lally and Batinik visited the Animal Shelter in Kent on Friday, hoping to find Teddi Sue among the tail-wagging denizens. No luck.

“She is an angel, the sweetest little thing,” Lally said of Teddi Sue.. “She has her hyper moments, but she is usually calm and normal. In the early evening she’ll tear around the house for a half-hour, then scrunch down. I call her my guinea pig. I have four dogs, and every night all four of them sleep with me. It drives my husband crazy. Home won’t be home without her.”

Even now she can hardly believe the dog is gone.

“I was gone maybe 15 minutes, came back out to the car to check on Teddi-Sue to make sure it wasn’t too hot I went back in, came out again maybe 10 minutes later, and the third time I came out the car was gone. My heart just dropped into my stomach. I said, ‘Oh my god, Teddi Sue!’ I had covered up the cart with bags at each end. I ran back in and said, ‘My car is gone.’ I spent two hours searching the parking lot. I searched everywhere. I called 911 and reported it.”

Lally wants to believe that Teddi Sue is still safe, and that somebody knows something. She was last seen in a plastic blue pet carrier with a wire door.

“If people learn about this, maybe they’ll say, ‘Oh, so and so just got a puppy like that right about that same time that looks just like that dog.’ Enough good people are out there that somebody is going to see her, somebody is going to say something. It might take some time. I just pray someone out there is feeding her and keeping her warm.”

“There is a reward. No questions asked. I just want the dog back,” Lally said.

Anyone with information may contact Lally at 1-541-579-5297 or via e-mail at dannially@yahoo.com

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