Dognapping saga has happy ending
Grab the hankies. Prepare to sob yourselves into a stupor as I present to you a fido finale more heartwarming than even those canine cinematic classics “Lassie Come Home,” “101 Dalmations” and “Old Yeller.”
Wait a second. Strike that last one.
The point is that Stanley the purloined pup has been returned to his rightful owner, safe and sound.
This is the little woofer who was snatched from Yvonne Shaunessy’s north Spokane home last month by a couple of brazen (insert alliterative dog breeding noun) posing as prospective puppy buyers.
Yvonne, 74, supplements her Social Security income by raising purebred Shih Tzus.
(Columnist’s aside: Alert reader P.W. has informed me that my scatological pronunciation of “Shih Tzu,” as given in the first Stanley column, was incorrect. “I hate to rain on your parade,” she writes. “But according to my book it is pronounced Sheed-Zoo.”)
Whatever.
But getting back to our saga …
On Wednesday, I returned to the scene of the crime for an emotional meeting with Stanley. Such a brave little soldier.
The shaggy little critter scampered around Yvonne’s kitchen floor trying to act as if nothing had happened.
I questioned Stanley about his 10-day ordeal.
It was like quizzing Judge John G. Roberts on abortion. I got nothing.
Yvonne, however, was talkative as ever. She recapped how she had been victimized when two women answered her newspaper ad.
As Yvonne looked on, the dognappers scooped up the $500 purebred and fled like flaming ferrets.
Yvonne figured poor Stanley was gone for good.
That scenario began to change late last week with a phone call.
A man identifying himself as Michael said he wanted to buy a puppy and made an appointment.
The 29-year-old man with a shaved head showed up with a different story.
“I’m not here to buy a dog,” he told Yvonne and her daughter, Theresa Giannetto, who had joined her mom for safety.
“I know where your puppy is, and I can steal him back for you.”
Michael wanted a reward for Stanley’s return.
Surprise. Surprise.
Yvonne and Theresa, however, weren’t about to be suckered into a shakedown.
They sent Michael away, hinting that if he could produce the pup there might be something in it for him if and when Stanley sold.
Michael returned on Friday afternoon with Stanley in hand.
Yvonne quietly dialed 911.
During the time it took the law to arrive, Theresa kept Michael busy on the front porch.
She lectured him on proper dog care.
She gave him a brief history of the Shih Tzu breed, which apparently was created to be pampered and fawned over and treated like royalty.
Think Oprah Winfrey.
Theresa says Michael’s eyes expanded into Frisbees when the cops pulled up.
“That’s a police car,” the young man astutely observed.
“Yes, Michael,” replied Theresa, “and don’t run.”
It didn’t take long for Michael to start singing like Kelly Clarkson.
Although I burned up an hour trying, I couldn’t get many specifics from Spokane Police Department on this caper.
Surprise. Surprise.
Word is, however, that a woman named Lisa has been arrested and charged with felony theft.
A second woman, Susan, has been identified and is being sought.
“Anything I can do to close a case and actually come to a resolution is great,” says Jeff Holy, the detective overseeing the case.
On another happy note, Yvonne says Stanley has been sold.
He will soon be leaving to a loving home. In the meantime, Yvonne and Theresa have nicknamed the dog Handsome Ransom.
Before we slam the door on this doghouse, Yvonne offers a final thought for the mutt rustlers who dared to invade her home.
“I gotta tell ya,” she says, “they messed with the wrong broad.”