Next to a pony, nothing could have made Anthony D’Alessandro’s three young daughters happier than a puppy.

D’Alessandro, a self-employed 43-year-old Bay Ridge man, had been waiting for the day that his girls were old enough to take care of a pet, much as he did when his parents surprised him with a black retriever while just a boy in Bensonhurst.

That day, he said, came 10 months ago when he and his family agreed on a miniature schnauzer, which they bought at a local pet store. They named him Zach. In no time, the tiny, silver-haired pup ingratiated itself with the girls, ages 8, 11 and 13. The pooch’s first birthday, said D’Alessandro, will be in August.

“The kids always wanted a dog,” said D’Alessandro. “He was special from day one.”

But as quickly as the family had come to love Zach, burglars ransacked the family’s home, snatching not only a television and stereo, but also Zach.

Police say that burglars broke into D’Alessandro’s home on Ridge Boulevard at 82nd Street on July 10.

The theft happened near midnight as the family slept. The next morning, D’Alessandro sat outside and sipped a cup of coffee.

“Where’s Zach?” he asked his daughters. When they said they didn’t know, he ventured into the basement, where the still teething puppy normally sleeps in a large cage.

What he found knocked the wind out of him. The television and stereo were missing, as were pairs of sunglasses and earrings. A door leading to the basement remained unlocked.

But all of that meant nothing, he said, after he saw Zach’s cage door wide open and its floor bare. D’Alessandro said the dog could not have simply roamed outside during the burglary because his cage door would have had to be opened by one of the thieves.

“The kids are destroyed,” said D’Alessandro. “I’m destroyed.”

Since then, D’Alessandro has been combing Bay Ridge and Sunset Park, looking for the pooch and tacking up missing posters. Each day, he takes a drive around the neighborhoods, stopping at firehouses and shelters, all the while talking to whomever he sees on the way.

Police are continuing to search for the puppy, who D’Alessandro said had recently been groomed. For that reason, he may appear more svelte than pictures of him belie.

“Everyone who sees him falls in love with him,” said D’Alessandro. “He was our first family dog.”

Anyone with information as to Zach’s whereabouts is asked to call D’Alessandro at (917) 482-3934. He said a reward would be offered.

Zach does not bite, he noted, and will respond to being called by his name.

©2004 The Brooklyn Paper