My Granddog Is the Toast of Washington, DC
By the time her publicist is done, she may be a household name all over the country.
You might have heard the tale of the purloined pooch by now, which is what the Washington Post called Margo. Do I get publicity in the Post? No. My son’s cockapoo does.
If you have heard the horrible tale with the perfect outcome, here are the details. If you missed this freaky story, here it is in all its angst, agony and absolutely heartwarming outcome.
It started when I took a phone call from my son Eric Peterson on a winter Thursday night. He was agitated and hysterical. His Capitol Hill home had been broken into, all his electronics had been stolen and his two and a half year old dog Margo was gone too. Not only was she gone, but since her leash, food and toys were gone too, it was clear she was part of the looting operation. My granddog was stolen property.
Bonnie and I got to DC as soon as possible to help with the hunt, but within ten minutes of being called, the D.C. police were already on the scene and the entire Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington was on alert and pitching in to help their pal Eric get his best friend back.
In a social media frenzy, chorus members and friends posted Margo’s photo, tweeted the news, and starting printing up MISSING posters and flyers.
By noon Friday, WRC-TV and FOX5 were on the scene, interviewing Eric, filming the ransacked townhouse, lovingly photographing and talking about Margo’s empty, overturned crate, and her distraught human companions.
Meanwhile, Facebook and Twitter lit up with BRING MARGO HOME messages, starring Margo’s BFF Cara and her humans begging for her return. A reward was posted. The police set up a tip-line phone number.
Bonnie, Eric, and I spent the long horrid afternoon attempting to keep busy with posters and tweets, reassuring ourselves that it was not like Margo had escaped and was running around in the cold on the dangerous streets. We suspected she was inside, warm, and being harbored by some stupid petty thief who cruelly and callously wanted somebody else’s dog. It was not a pretty time.
Throughout the afternoon, a Capitol Hill dog walking service, Saving Grace Pet Care (plug, plug!) posted REWARD posters all over town, while Facebook published pleas, pictures, and FIND MARGO posts.
By 5 p.m. news time, reports of the missing Margo were all over the tube, in heart-wrenching human and canine interest stories, emotionally and sensationally crafted by TV’s reporters and film editors. There was Eric, pleading for his companion’s return, news anchors sensationally telling the tale and cute photos of the missing pooch posted on camera.
“Man Desperate to Find Missing Dog!” (hell, Jewish mothers desperate to find missing dog!) Tweet: #FINDMARGO. “Reward offered, no questions asked, for stolen canine!”
By Friday evening we left Eric with friends, who had instructions to provide enough Maker’s Mark so the guy could get some shuteye. We made the sad trip back to Reho and somehow got ourselves some sleep as well, but it wasn’t easy.
My cell phone rang at 8 a.m. “I got her back! The police have her! I’m going down to the station to get her!!!!!!!”
Sometimes there’s nothing you can say but the quintessential OMG.
A detective had called Eric and asked him the name of his dog. When the officer called, “Margo! Margo!!” and the dog went ballistic, the detective said, “We’ve got your dog!”
So Eric headed for the police station, alerting the TV reporters he’d spoken to along the way. After all, thousands of viewers should get the good news too. And, TV news people adore a two-part story with an incredibly happy ending.
It seems that the police tip line got a hit late Friday night. Someone saw Margo being walked on the street not far from the scene of break-in. The witness didn’t know the Margo story, but told a friend about the guy with a new dog and the friend had seen the TV coverage.
Not only did Eric get Margo back, but the police raid wound up solving seven other burglaries in the neighborhood. And Margo, the now infamous 20-pound cockapoo got credit for the bust!
Dognapped Cockapoo, Margo, Found and Back Home Safe and Sound! Suspect Charged in Multiple Burglaries— Metropolitan Police Report
Margo Goes Home: Dog Stolen in Burglary Reunited With Owner—WRC-TV
Purloined pooch Margo returns to her home in D.C. after word spreads on Web and TV—Washington Post
In all, the story had been shared on line more than 700 times, the TV stations were all over it, and Margo quickly became the most famous dog in Washington, DC (sorry Bo).
Eric told me, “This is a story that went crazy. People were enraged by the theft of somebody’s pet.”
And yes, the reward was paid to the tipster—but this is a great story in its own right. The money went to a family who really needed it and will be able to use it to make a real difference in their lives. As Bonnie and I like to say, it was a real mitzvah.
But even this isn’t the end of the story. The creep who stole my granddog along with lots of neighborhood electronics and valuables, despite already being in the “system” for other crimes, could only be charged with second degree burglary for his haul, including Margo.
Sorry, after the hell he put Eric through; and others like him who, it seems have had pups stolen in D.C. over the years, this should be a lock-up and throw away the key sentence. Okay, it’s not capital murder, but last Friday night I would have been tempted to…I’ll just leave it at that.
So now, in a move I call Margo’s law, petitions are out there calling on the DC Council to stiffen the sentence for pet theft. Let’s face it, the loss of a beloved pet means more to a dog’s human companion than the loss of a flat-screen TV. I for one stand ready to write letters, march on the District Building or whatever it takes. If you want to write a letter to the DC Council, especially if you live in D.C., please do!
So my granddog is home safe and sound, and we all have learned, once again, of the power of the media, social and otherwise. Also friendship and community. The story went viral, people all over, re-posted, re-tweeted, and spread the word, and for that we say thanks.
And we are the proud grandmoms of Margo Channing Peterson, the wonder dog. As Eric says,
“The guy who broke into my house was implicated in seven other robberies. SEVEN. And he was brought down by Margo. I am the proud parent of one badass cockapoo.”
Amen.
Fay Jacobs is the author of As I Lay Frying—a Rehoboth Beach Memoir; Fried & True—Tales from Rehoboth Beach, For Frying Out Loud—Rehoboth Beach Diaries, and her newest book Time Fries—Aging Gracelessly in Rehoboth Beach.