You Call That A Dog Shit? Rats Around Here Drop Loads Bigger Than That

They’re still looking for Vivi, the wayward whippet who — dead or alive — is somewhere in the Jamaica Bay-JFK area:

Two weeks to the day after a champion whippet named Vivi broke free of her crate at Kennedy Airport and ran off into the marshes, searchers have not given up, continuing to hand out thousands of lost-dog fliers and canvass the 5,000-acre airport.

An organized search party of volunteers is planned Saturday at 8 a.m., starting at the Vetport at Building 189 in Cargo Area C.

. . .

While Vivi might be lying low, her supporters aren’t. Brian Rosenberg, vice president of the Garden City Hotel and a whippet owner himself, is planning a “Vivi and the Strays” fundraiser at the hotel’s nightclub, Posh, on March 11. Proceeds will benefit the search, which may expand to include a pet detective, as well as local rescue groups that help other lost dogs.

“It seems like this is the start of something, whether Vivi is found or not,” said Rosenberg. “It shouldn’t just be about one show dog.”

The there is the perverse possibility that someone is holding the dog for ransom:

And searchers worry that Vivi’s well-heeled reputation might work against her. Initially, one of Vivi’s owners said she was worth $150,000 — an exaggeration intended to put the search for her into high gear, but one that might make the $5,000 reward look disproportionate.

“She is worth $20,000 as a show dog in the right context, possibly, but she is not worth a cent without her papers,” said Bengtson, adding that the cost of showing and “campaigning” a show dog like Vivi easily mounted to that much in expenses for her owners. “We’re dreading that someone might be holding out for more money. But the reward is $5,000, and not anything more.”

Meanwhile, the Queens Times Newsweekly’s editorial page thinks enough is enough:

Enough already with Vivi (short for Champion Bohem C’est La Vie), the missing Whippet show dog that got loose from its cage at Kennedy Airport.

Hundreds of man-hours have been wasted at JFK by Port Authority personnel who have to accompany the dog-seeking entourage — including a handler, breeder, groom, walker and a host of volunteers. Coast Guard helicopters flew around for days trying to locate the canine and bloodhounds have been unleashed. Since bloodhounds usually track people, there’s a special Rottweiler that tracks dogs.

. . .

It is unfortunate that Vivi, fresh from its appearance in the Westminster Dog Show, was lost. But the odds of its survival are slim indeed. Cold weather and packs of stray dogs known to roam the area all but ensure doom.

. . .

Now comes word of the newest advancement—a probe of dog droppings. Apparently, one of the dog’s owners claims that some droppings found are consistent with the 30-pound Whippet’s. However, some workers at Kennedy counter that rats in the area drop loads the same size.