A missing Jack Russell terrier — who may have been dog-napped —
prompted a desperate search of Prospect Park, an outpouring of help from
Brooklyn dog lovers and a flood of bizarre telephone calls to the pup’s
anxious owners.
Police have even joined the search for Henry James, the terrier who was
last seen cavorting in Prospect Park’s Long Meadow shortly before
9 am on Oct. 27. When the dog’s owners received a call 12 hours later
from a stranger who wanted $2,000 in exchange for their pet, the owners
alerted the 78th Precinct.
“It was his favorite thing in the world,” owner Amy Lawday explained,
recalling that last morning in the meadow, where park rules permit dogs
to run free from 5 pm until 9 am. “I took him off the leash and he
went wildly running off in the distance.”
Lawday said she kept close watch over the 1-year-old dog. But when she
turned away for a moment, Henry James disappeared.
With the help of other dog owners and police, Lawday, a Bedford Stuyvesant
resident, and her friend, Dian Needham, combed the park on foot and in
four-wheeled vehicles.
The search extended beyond the park’s perimeter: one woman printed
500 copies of a flier describing the missing dog, and volunteers plastered
the posters on trees and bulletin boards in communities around the park.
A friend listed their contact information in the “lost and found”
section of the Web site craigslist.com.
“It was just absolutely devastating,” Lawday said, adding that
she is still shaking. “We just could not believe this was happening.”
But the nightmare had only begun.
At 9 pm, Needham’s phone rang which she and Lawday were driving to
a friend’s house in Brooklyn Heights for a “cheer-up” dinner.
A man said, “We’ve got Henry,” Lawday recalled.
“I had never been so happy in my life,” Lawday said. But her
glee was short-lived.
The caller wanted to know where they lived, but wouldn’t commit to
returning the dog. He also said his niece had become very attached to
Henry James. “I don’t think she can give him up,” the man
said, according to Lawday.
“But it’s our dog,” Lawday told him. “This is family.”
Their desperation mounting, Lawday said they promised the man anything:
a new puppy for the niece, even money. The stranger dismissed their suggestion
of a $200 “finder’s fee” and demanded $2,000 — that
very night. Lawday insisted they meet in a public place.
They decided on a spot for the exchange, a gas station at the corner of
Caton and Coney Island avenues, and the caller promised to call again
when he left work at 3 am.
When he did phone, Lawday — growing skeptical of the man’s claims
— pushed him for a detailed description of Henry James. The man became
testy, stalled, and eventually said the dog was elsewhere at the time.
He promised to call again, when he got the pet, but Lawday and Needham
have not heard from him again.
Deputy Inspector Thomas J. Harris, commanding officer at the 78th Precinct,
said the “dog-napping” report was unusual. But police cannot
be sure the mystery caller had the dog, he noted. “She’s put
up fliers and everything,” Harris said. “And the dog’s
collar has her number on it.”
In fact, the “ransom” call was not the only response the couple
received in their search. Lawday said they have had dozens of calls and
not all of the tipsters have been well-intentioned. The calls highlight
“the best and worst of people” she said.
One person phoned to say, “We just had Henry James on the bar-be-que
and he was delicious!” Lawday said.
“The hardest thing now,” after the tireless volunteer effort,
Lawday said, is that the fliers are coming down and, “the calls are
drying up.” And Henry James remains missing.
Anyone with information about the missing dog can contact Lawday at (646)
345-4060.
