Vivi Liberation!

The Times picks up the Vivi scent, the show dog who is still missing:

There had been several sightings of Vivi, a white and brown female whippet, in the past few weeks, both in the tabloids and around the area of Flushing Cemetery and Kissena Park. Ms. Booth, a breeder of whippets and a friend of Vivi’s owners, who live in Claremont, Calif., had already scoured Queens a half-dozen times looking for the dog, but there was no giving up now.

“As you can see, it’s an extremely daunting search,” said Ms. Booth, who was wearing a brown ski jacket and hiking boots as she ticked off a long list of Vivi’s possible hiding spots. Having searched Queens from the marshes around Kennedy Airport to the streets of Bayside, she has become intimately familiar with the terrain. “I’m learning more about Queens than I ever wanted to know,” she said.

By late Friday, the show dog’s whereabouts remained a mystery. The search for Vivi has galvanized this part of Flushing, where several cars could be seen cruising slowly around the cemetery and park, their drivers peering out their windows. Fliers posted on several telephone poles depicted Vivi in happier days, sprinting through a field and standing at attention. “If Seen, Do Not Chase Her,” the fliers warned sternly. They also offered a $5,000 reward. [Emph. added in order to underscore the idea that the owner may deserve to have her prize dog liberated in Queens]