Suspected Dognapping Outside P Street Whole Foods

Posted by Tom in DC Life on 06 30th, 2009 | no responses

Molly was last seen outside the P Street Whole Foods. Is someone stealing dogs in Logan Circle? Area residents Laurel and Tyler Newby believe someone walked off with their 7 year-old Vizsla, Molly, Monday evening outside the P Street Whole Foods. Tyler and the couple’s daughter had popped into the store at around 6 p.m. to pick up a couple of things for dinner. It was a typically busy evening on that street, with lots of people coming in and out of the popular grocery store, as well as milling around the tables on the sidewalk. As is the family’s habit, Molly came along for the walk, and like he usually does, before going inside, Tyler tied the dog up outside the store by looping her leash around a tree and clipping it back on the ring on her collar. Tyler noticed that there weren’t any other dogs tied up there, which he says is unusual for that time of day at that location. When Tyler and his daughter returned after making their purchases - he estimates they were inside for no more than 20 minutes - the leash was there, but Molly was gone. And those who know her insist Molly would not have run away. “She’s such a people dog. If she had gotten off her leash, she would have gone straight to the closest person,” said Laurel Newby. “And she’s so large, if she had been wandering down the street, people would have wondered, ‘where is your owner?’” Tyler also noticed that the leash didn’t show any signs of Molly having struggled against it. “The leash wasn’t pulled tight like she had been straining against it. It was kind of loose,” he said, noting that if Molly had pulled on it, the retractable leash lead would have been extended all the

way, but it wasn’t. Molly’s regular dog sitter, Art Soodsamai, agrees that Molly was unlikely to run off. “She doesn’t care about other dogs,” Soodsamia said. “She doesn’t try to escape. [Vizsla's] are pretty smart. She would wait, even if she wasn’t on the leash.” Tyler immediately asked some people who were sitting outside on the tables if they had seen anything. One woman said she had just seen Molly a moment ago, but didn’t see her run off, and no one noticed anyone take her. “It’s so strange, because there were so many people around there,” Laurel Newby said. “But she’s so friendly. I think she would have gone with somebody.” The Newbys filed a police report and have posted fliers all over the neighborhood. No one they’ve talked to, including the MPD and regulars at the nearby dog park at 11th and Q Streets NW, are aware of any kind of rash of dog thefts. It’s hard to imagine what kind of person would steal a dog right off the street, but both Soodsamai and Newby agree there is at least one motive they can think of: money. Molly is a purebred Vizsla, and Newby describes her as being a particularly beautiful specimen. “She looks like a show dog, like she might be worth some money,” she said. The Newbys are asking anyone who might have seen Molly to call them at either 415-505-3857 or 202-885-9534. She’s described as having short, red/rust hair, approximately 60-70 lbs, with a distinct scar from a past surgery on the inside right hind leg near her knee. She was also wearing a pink, nylon collar with cupcakes around. The dog is very friendly and responds to the name “Molly.”