Bridget Reed Morawski
WASHINGTON (WMAL) — A substantial award has been set up by a heartbroken DC couple after their puppy was stolen from their parked car on Tuesday.
Michael Steel and his wife, Mary Kathryn, are posting a $10,000 reward for the return of Maggie, their four-month old Boston Terrier puppy.
The couple decided not to leave Maggie at home that day, and brought her along with them for some errands. The Steels walked Maggie around a bit before deciding to get a bite to eat, securing her in her dog carrier at around 1:00pm on Tuesday.
An hour later they returned to find their window smashed, with glass shards across the pavement – and no trace of their puppy.
“I was hoping that when someone realized that the bag wasn’t like a gym bag or a duffle bag, that it contained a puppy, that they may have just let her go or dropped the bag,” said Michael Steel. “But we didn’t find anything.”
Police conducted several bike tours of the area, according to Michael, and he has been running around downtown DC trying to find her himself.
“I have this terror that they dumped her in a dumpster or trash can somewhere,” he said. “So I spent a bunch of time walking through the alleys in that area and picking up the lids on dumpsters and calling to her hoping to hear a rustle in the trash.”
Friends of the couple have helped print and distribute flyers with photos of Maggie and the large reward amount.
Michael sees two possibilities regarding the fate of their Boston Terrier – either she was released downtown after the thief realized that they had stolen a puppy, or that she was intentionally kidnapped to sell for profit. If that’s the case, Steel says, he’s willing to pay to get her back home.
“We want to make it very clear that it’s an awful lot more profitable to bring her home than to sell her on the black market.”
The tiny Boston Terrier also requires medical attention – she has a heartworm, a tapeworm, and parasites. She is four-months old, with a black coat, white paws, and a red collar.
Copyright 2016 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Michael Steel)
