Hide your pooches. Neighbors witnessed an apparent puppy-napper snatch Bugzy, a year-old Yorkie, near Ferry Point Park on Saturday, January 16.
Rohr Avenue resident Angelica Alicea lost track of Bugzy in the early afternoon. Amid preparations for a Sweet 16 birthday party, the pooch slipped outdoors. When Alicea returned from a trip to E. Tremont Avenue, Bugzy had disappeared.
“We looked in the house and around the corner,” Alicea said.
On Brush Avenue near Wenner Place, a neighbor had bad news. Someone in a white car grabbed Bugzy and sped away, the neighbor told Alicea. The pup belongs to her ten-year daughter, Clarissa. He was a present from Clarissa’s father.
“I miss Bugzy so much,” Clarissa said. “I love him so much.”
Alicea sketched a “lost dog” flier and made a hundred copies. Then the family raced to the 45th Precinct. But the police don’t handle lost dogs, Alicea was told. She posted fliers around the neighborhood and on Craigslist online. The 45th Precinct agreed to help spread the word.
Alicea has offered a reward but no one had called the family as of Thursday, January 19.
“I’m so upset,” Alicea said. “I don’t sleep at night. I only think about the dog and cry. My daughters are heartbroken.”
Buzgy used to sleep next to Clarissa and her three-year old sister, Angelina. The toddler asks for the Yorkie before she goes to bed and when she wakes up in the morning, Alicea said.
Bugzy is white and tan with brown ears, a black nose and brown snout. Alicea described the pooch as gentle and lovable. Phone (347) 865-8078 with any information on his whereabouts.
Reach reporter Daniel Beekman at (718) 742-3383 or dbeekman@cnglocal.com
