Cross post widely!!!!

2008-09-00
One of my friends from the Chicago area has reported a missing Golden Retriever Therapy Dog named Maggie. She has been missing since yesterday morning. They have had this dog for not quite a year. She was found in the middle of nowhere, almost dead and they nursed her back to health and discovered she is a trained therapy dog. They take the dog to their vets office every morning and Maggie works there all day and returns home in the evening. Maggie loves people and is very sensitive to people's emotions. She just seems to know when someone is sad or needs some love, she just goes to them and offers her unconditional love to them. This family also has a foster child that has suffered lots of major trauma in his life and Maggie is helping him to overcome some of his problems. She is a wonderful dog. She truly is an angel in a dog's body. They are a wonderful family and have taken in numerous dogs that need a home as well as children that need a home. They had an article in their newspaper about Maggie.

Anyway, someone apparently stole Maggie from the vet's office yesterday morning. They believe they know who did it. They came in with supposedly an ill cat, gave a fake address, they disappeared and so did Maggie. They may of seen the article in the paper and planned on taking her. The police have been called and are supposed to be actively looking for her.

If you could be aware of this situation and keep your eyes and ears open, it would be greatly appreciated.

Maggie is chipped through Avid, so if you have a chip reader that recognizes Avid, you will get her info. It will either have my friend's information, their last name is Yazowski, or it will have the vets info.

Here is info about Maggie from my friend ...
She was wearing her Therapy dog vest (bright blue with the Therapy Dog International Logo) and cap also bright blue with the logo.

Maggie is 30' tall She weighs 91 pounds and has a completely white muzzle and face.

She has a mole under he left ear near the back.

She has surgery scars on her stomach.

She is full coat, which means she has feathering on her legs and tail
She is missing one tooth, a molar bottom left second behind the Canine.

I have to get the chip number, I gave that paperwork to the vet so they could get a broadcast out But it's an Avid chip and she has been flagged for shelters to detain.

She still has some irritation on her vulva and may be itchy.

She needs her medication daily for her arthritis and bad hips.

She will answer to Maggie, Magster, or Mags.

A secret that not many people know is that she will high five with her right front paw if you say 'Pay me the money' She is light gold with red overtones.

She has white on her chest and stomach and on both front paws ( just a little like on her toes) Her eyes are brown She has an almost completely 'liver' nose with a few dark freckles.

Her muzzle, up to and just over her eyes has gone white with a few golden hairs left.

Her whiskers are gray

Maggie has had an infection on her private area and that's why the comment about she still has some irritation and is itchy.

Here is a picture of her.



She loves peanut butter!

They have set up this email address for any leads to Maggie's whereabouts or any questions that you may have to see if any dog you may find is Maggie.
Thanks Cathy

More Information on the Missing Dog(s):

Maggie disappeared north of Chicago. We now know that she was taken into Wisconsin, as the police have been able to trace her as far as there. They believe these people may be in a van and transporting several dogs... So we are concentrating on Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota right now.. but of course they could be anywhere.

We appreciate everyone helping us try to track our girl down.

The van is believed to be a dark blue Chevy van with at least 4 dog crates in the back.

The man is about 6 feet tall with a thin moustache and long sideburns
The woman is about 5'5" with short blunt cut chestnut hair.

Both are in their early thirties.

IF YOU HAVE INFO PLEASE CONTACT :

<searchformaggie.info@gmail.com>

Thanks so much!!!

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:08 am By LetRVoiceBHeard

UPDATE:
Story on Maggie's Theft and Recovery

Good Morning Marcella,
Yes she was found on Sunday, 6 days after she was taken. Law enforcement believe it is a ring of dog thieves that have been working the Midwest for quite awhile and seem to be very elusive.

Police were able to link her disappearance to a complaint in southern Wisconsin of barking dogs and a lot of "night time" activity. From that complaint they were able to discover the identities of the two people who matched the description of the ones who took her.

They also got a description of the van.. A dark blue panel van - late 90's Ford Econoline.
The tag was only a partial IL tag 598-1 ??? From there the trail led to a Flea Market / Swap
meet where a different police agency had been gathering info that stolen dogs were being sold..that lead then developed into some background that the dogs being sold were distributed from a location in the UP of Michigan.

Yet another police agency involved , and located and abandoned barn with about 200 dog kennels. There was evidence of recent activity in the barn..From there my husband and I took it upon ourselves to canvas the area which is pretty darn remote. We spent over 18 hours Saturday afternoon, evening and on into Sunday driving up and down dirt roads, back into fields you name it we looked there.

Call it Divine providence or intervention but we happened down a very remote road through a stand of trees and found a dump site piled with kennels. Our Maggie was there, cold, soaking wet and with some minor injuries. There was evidence that this location has been used many times before.. bodies etc in various states of decay.

This is an on going investigation so I can't be more specific then that until the police wrap things up , hopefully with some arrests.

A little background on the ring itself: It is believed to be a supplier of dogs to bunchers
who sell to Class B dealers for medical research. They also are believed to supply bait dogs for dog fighting rings and Pit Bull pups as well.

The frequently use vans, pick up trucks and small livestock trailers to transport animals from state to state. Vans and pickups with camper tops often have the words "ANIMAL RESCUE" "PET RESCUE" or ANIMAL MANAGEMENT - be aware of these vehicles in neighborhoods cruising looking for dogs. They frequently work in teams, man & woman, or two men.

They also change locations frequently and will use abandoned barns, farms etc to house dogs prior to distribution.

Hope this helps
Kate