Snoop was thrilled to be returned to her spot on the family couch. Photos courtesy of the McGuire Family
A routine trip to Charles Park on Saturday afternoon turned into a nightmare for one Howard Beach family when their beloved dog disappeared from the park during an afternoon walk.
Bobby McGuire set out for the park around 4:15, with his three family dogs, as he does on a regular basis; loading Snoop, Molly and Miles into the car, he drove about five blocks from his home to the park.
McGuire says he usually parks in the same spot on 99th Street but since there was no spot available he parked several blocks down near 96th Street.
Leading the dogs into the park, they walked toward the grassy spot before the shore and set up to play. McGuire says he gives each of the dogs their exercise but has to pay close attention to Miles, a 13-year-old Yorkie, who is blind.
“I don’t always bring Miles because of his condition,” said the retired firefighter, “but it was a good time for their walk and I wanted to take all three of them together.” But as he was playing with his dogs McGuire says he turned to do something for one minute but when he turned around again, Snoop, an 11-year-old mini Schnauzer, was nowhere to be seen, his leash lying nearby on the ground.
“I realized that he got off the leash and I just started to turn around in every direction to see if I could see him running or something,” said McGuire. “It couldn’t have been more than two minutes in total. It happened so fast.” But scanning the landscape before him, there was no sign of Snoop.
He called his family to alert them. Forces were mobilized immediately. Bobby’s wife, Carolyn McGuire, said the news was a devastating blow. “It felt like I got kicked in the stomach. I was devastated,” said an emotional McGuire. But she said that within two minutes of finding out what was going on at that park nearly everyone there had joined in the search to find Snoop.
And at the same time a frantic search continued in the park, Bobby McGuire gathered up Miles and Snoop’s daughter, a 5-year-old Schnoodle named Molly, and made his way to the car. “All I could think is that maybe she [Snoop] was making her way to 99th Street where we usually park.” With that in mind, he made his way two blocks over. There were people standing around the perimeter of the park and walking around. A flag football game had brought players and spectators out in full force.
The frantic dog owner approached the first group of about 4 guys he encountered. “Have you seen a small dog come through here a few minutes ago?” he questioned. The men were quick to respond that they had just seen the dog, telling him that a woman was holding the dog and asking if it were anyone’s dog.
McGuire learned shortly thereafter that his hunch had been right– Snoop had likely headed for their familiar parking spot. The woman, who had the dog in her arms only a few minutes before he got there, had picked her up near the handball courts on 99th Street.
As she was inquiring about who owned the dog, a man came up to her and snatched the dog from her arms saying it was his. It too happened very quickly and witnesses say the woman apparently grew suspicious and asked the man what the dog’s name was at the same time reaching to see the collar. But the man pulled the dog back saying that she was known to bite and not to worry, her name was Rosie. He said he would put her in the car and take her home.
At least 5 eyewitnesses at the scene described the man to be about 5’9 inches tall, of Hispanic descent, average build but with a large protruding stomach, wearing jeans and a white A-shirt. They all saw the man put the dog into a small white car and drove away.
Unsure about the fate of their beloved Snoop, the McGuire’s along with their three sons and daughter-in-law, set out on a mission to get the dog back. “We knew we had to get the word out there immediately,” said Bobby McGuire, “so we put together a poster announcing a reward.” From there the family blanketed the area with more than 700 flyers, hanging them all over poles and in businesses from Broad Channel through Ozone Park and all the surrounding communities. They worked into the dark on Saturday and started up first thing on Sunday morning.
“I thought we would never see her again,” said Bobby McGuire, “and it was the same as the loss you feel when you lose a member of your family. It was absolutely terrible for all of us.” And thinking further he added, “I don’t know what people do when a child goes missing. I don’t know how they could handle that.” But the despair of the family turned to joy when the McGuire’s got a call about 1 pm on Sunday afternoon.
Carolyn McGuire was out with one of their sons putting up some more posters, Bobby stayed at home to monitor the phones. “A guy called and said that he saw the poster and that he thought he had our dog. I just couldn’t believe it,” an elated McGuire told The Forum. The man told the overjoyed owner that he had heard a dog crying outside his house late that night and saw that he wasn’t any threat so he had taken Snoop inside. “He said he saw the poster up on Sunday and called us up.” They made arrangements to meet at 97th Street and 160th Avenue. The dog would be returned and the reward paid.
To add even further to the frazzling string of events surrounding Snoop’s disappearance, Carolyn McGuire was returning back to her house after hanging up more posters in Ozone Park when she and son John spotted a man with their dog. “Hey that’s our dog,” they screamed after the man. He responded by telling them he was outside waiting for Bobby to come get the dog.
“I didn’t hear much after that,” Carolyn McGuire said. “All I know is that we had just gotten a miracle–an absolute miracle.” Offering proof for her faithful assertion, she says it was just the day before in the middle of searching for Snoop, that she stopped by Our Lady of Grace where there was a Blessing of the Animals ceremony, and asked Fr. Tony Rucando for a special blessing to bring Snoop home. “God and Howard Beach brought our dog back to us. We’re blessed by our faith and by our neighbors and we could never be more thankful than to have gotten the dog back. Never.”
And husband Bobby echoes the same joy when talking about the return of the family’s beloved pooch, but he also has a few words of caution for fellow dog owners. “Small dogs are taken for breeding purposes and also to be used as sacrifices for illegal dog fighting. You have to be on top of your pet every minute–don’t take your eyes off them.” And McGuire says he feels his family might have gotten lucky because it was obvious that Snoop was an older dog and not suitable for breeding. “Whatever it was we are just so thankful.”
Now the family hopes that people will keep their eyes out for the person who abducted Snoop or anyone that could be a potential threat to animals in the park. Bobby McGuire said he suggests micro chipping dogs so that location finders are available and thieves are discouraged.
“We were very lucky,” said Carolyn McGuire, “and in the same day we lost our dog we gained a lot of appreciation for so many neighbors who helped us get her back. I am proud to say that I live here. Everyone should know how great the people in Howard Beach really are—it was really unbelievable.”
By Patricia Adams
