Lost Westminster Dog UPDATE on bottom of the page

Whippet on the run after getting out of cage

Thursday, February 16, 2006; Posted: 7:35 a.m. EST (12:35 GMT)

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Bohem C'est La Vie escaped at JFK International Airport on Wednesday.

(CNN) -- A canine contender from this week's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is missing after escaping from a travel cage at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, authorities said.
The dog, a female Whippet named Bohem C'est La Vie, was scheduled to travel with her owners on a Delta Air Lines flight to California from New York -- where the dog show took place -- when she broke free from her cage about noon, according to Tiffany Townsend of the New York Port Authority.

Port Authority Police said they dispatched a helicopter to aid in the search for several hours Wednesday, and said the dog was spotted in marsh land surrounding the airport, but authorities on the ground were unable to catch her.

Delta spokeswoman Susan West said the airline was working with authorities to help locate Bohem C'est La Vie.

The Port Authority said the dog's owners -- listed on the Westminster Kennel Club Web site as Jil Walton & Paul Lepiane -- were also cooperating with police.

According to the American Whippet Club, the Whippet is a medium-sized member of the Sighthound family and is very similar in appearance to the Greyhound, only smaller.

CNN News Assistant Stacey Francisco contributed to this report.

Message edited 2/17/2006 7:33:09 PM.

Re: Lost Westminster Dog

I saw this on the news this morning. So sad.

Re: Lost Westminster Dog

I really hope they find her. The woman was crying on TV last night.

Re: Lost Westminster Dog

I hope they find the dog. I would die if my puppy ran away.

Re: Lost Westminster Dog

I feel so bad for them....

Re: Lost Westminster Dog

did they find the dog yet?

Re: Lost Westminster Dog

No, and it's looking pretty bad. She has a very thin coat and isn't used to being out on her own. I feel so bad for this woman and her dog...what a horrible thing to go through. I keep looking a Misty and thinking what would she ever do if she was lost?

Re: Lost Westminster Dog

Posted by Gertyrae

No, and it's looking pretty bad. She has a very thin coat and isn't used to being out on her own. I feel so bad for this woman and her dog...what a horrible thing to go through. I keep looking a Misty and thinking what would she ever do if she was lost?

Re: Lost Westminster Dog

I just got this update on one of my Havanese forums. Looks like Delta is now "Investigating" and not "searching" -- see below

**********

One of the problems with searching for the dog is that she is
suspected to be in a restricted area and they are not letting people
in to search......

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 11:56:51 -0500
From: Joan Goldstein <[email protected]>
Subject: Delta

The number to call to POLITELY ask Delta to continue their efforts to =
find the lost whippet, VIVI, is 404 773-5784. They will take your
name and address and say they will call you back BUT KEEP TALKING,
politely telling them how many people you know who are outraged at
Delta notcontinuing the search. They are saying they are continuing
the investigation--tell them that isn't good enough, we need them to
co-operate in the search. Stress how large the dog community is, how
supportive we are of each other, and how many of us fly every weekend.

Joan Goldstein

Message edited 2/17/2006 7:33:38 PM.

Re: Lost Westminster Dog UPDATE on bottom of the page

I hope they find the dog soon

Re: Lost Westminster Dog UPDATE on bottom of the page

does anyone know if the dog was found yet?

Re: Lost Westminster Dog UPDATE on bottom of the page

No, she hasn't been found yet. They had traps set out with food in them as of Saturday a.m., but nothing. Someone may have seen her at a construction site on Friday, but when the owner's went there they couldn't find her.
I keep Googling it because I am sort of obsessed with it, I feel so bad for the dog and the owner.

Re: Lost Westminster Dog UPDATE on bottom of the page

I got this e-mail today from my Havanese list

*******

>UPDATE ON THE SEARCH FOR VIVI
>
> Following is an update on the search for
> Vivi, the Whippet who was lost at JFK Airport
> on Wednesday morning, Feb. 15. As of Saturday
> evening there is still no confirmed sighting,
> but the search continues with assistance from
> the Port Authority, Animal Control and many concerned helpers.
>
> Since much incorrect and contradictory
> information has circulated over the internet
> and in the media we want to establish the
> actual sequence of events. I am sorry this is
> so long but for my peace of mind want to get it all on record.
>
> Vivi's owner Jil Walton and her sister
> checked Vivi in at the Delta terminal at JFK
> approx. 9:45 AM on Wednesday morning. She was
> travelling in her usual crate in which she has
> flown many times before; it has a security bar
> across the gate (which I find difficult to open
> even under normal circumstances). As all who
> know her are aware, Vivi is totally unfazed by
> flying and loves her crate. As far as is known
> nothing extraordinary occurred during the
> check-in. Vivi was wearing a dark brown/black
> woollen coat and a broad collar with Jil's phone number.
>
> When Jil and her sister boarded the plane
> they saw the crate being loaded. They then
> noticed a baggage handler peering into the
> crate as if he were looking for something; a
> few minutes later the stewardess came up to Jil
> and told her the crate was empty. Jil and Jamie
> immediately disembarked and were told that Vivi
> had escaped from her crate at some point
> between check-in and departure. No one appeared
> to know exactly what had happened.
>
> (We do not believe that any airline
> employee would deliberately open the crate
> door, and even if they did Vivi most likely
> would stay in her crate. I am personally
> convinced that the crate must have been dropped
> hard enough for the gate to open and for Vivi
> to be startled enough to get out. We will most
> likely never find out what happened. The crate
> has been returned and appears undamaged except for the broken spring lock.)
>
> Vivi was spotted on the runway by Port
> Authority officials, who tried to catch her.
> She was obviously disoriented and took off at
> top speed, followed by several Port Authority
> vehicles. At one point they managed to corner
> her, and the officer who approached her (in the
> correct manner, kneeling down and talking to
> her) said she was obviously panicked and only
> responded by escaping him. She was last seen
> getting through the barbed wire fence which
> separates the airport from the marsh and open
> water. This would have been any time after
> check-in but prior to Jil being informed that Vivi was lost.
>
> When Paul and I arrived, after having
> received a phone call on our way to the airport
> approx. 3:00 PM, the airport authorities had
> already escorted Jil and Jamie on a search
> around the entire airport, with special
> emphasis on the area where she was last seen.
> They were joined on different locations by
> several other Port Authority vehicles and
> helicopters. The airport consists of 4900 acres
> of almost completely flat land with only two
> small areas of dense brush and trees. Our fear
> is that Vivi in her panic got too far out into
> the water to get back; a Port Authority
> official searched the marsh in a wetsuit without finding anything.
>
> Searches of the areas immediately outside
> the airport during the afternoon and evening
> proved fruitless. We had good help from Animal
> Control officials, friends and the media, who
> broadcast the disappearance and Vivi's
> photograph more widely than we could ever have
> hoped for. The following day Jil, Jamie, Paul
> and I - in different groups - were all given
> permission to search the airport, accompanied
> by Port Authority officials. We found no new
> tracks in the snow, which by then was already
> melting: the weather fortunately has been
> exceptionally mild for New York in February
> this week. Several other vehicles and helicopters were also searching.
>
> A large number of dog lovers and friends,
> some in groups, helped by searching the areas
> around the airport and passing out flyers. By
> this time the media coverage had been so
> extensive that almost everyone we talked to was
> aware of the lost Whippet. We gave as many
> interviews as possible in the hope that someone
> might recognize Vivi if they saw her.
>
> One brief hope on Friday morning was a
> report that Vivi had been sighted at 2:00 AM
> close to a construction site outside the
> airport. Since no later sightings have
> confirmed the first one we believe it must
> either be discounted (dozens of other "reported
> sightings" turned out to be the wrong dog;
> Animal Control gets around 700 calls per day),
> or that Vivi is hiding in the residential area
> nearby, perhaps in a garage or a shed. I spoke
> to the woman who reported the sighting and she
> gave a good description of Vivi, but by this
> time her photo had appeared in most of the NY newspapers and on TV.
>
> Paul and Honi Reisman once again gained
> access to the airport, with special attention
> to the areas where Vivi might be hiding, all of
> which are highly restricted and normally off
> limits to anyone except police and specific
> airport employees. Traps have been set up in
> different areas, inside the airport by the Port
> Authority and outside by Animal Control. I
> accompanied a local journalist for several
> hours cruising the streets where Vivi may have
> been sighted and asked road crews, gas station
> attendants and people with dogs if they had
> seen her. Everyone knew about Vivi but none had seen her.
>
> With Paul staying behind, I left late
> Friday and got back to California at 2:00 AM to
> take care of my dogs and try to deal with some
> work, as well as several hundred emails, faxes
> and phone messages from concerned dog lovers.
> Paul, together with Honi Reisman, who is
> providing invaluable support, have been given
> permission to search the cargo hangars which
> are the most likely areas Vivi might be hiding.
> Several psychics who have offered their
> assistance agree that she is hiding behind what
> seems to be cargo, that she is safe but very
> afraid. There are approx. 150 of these cargo
> hangars, many of them abandoned, but all of
> them heated, and most with openings which would
> make it easy for Vivi to get in and out. She
> can hide there for a long time. There is no
> shortage of water but we hope she will soon get
> hungry enough to let herself be spotted and eventually caught.
>
> One very promising fact is that the airport
> radar spotted a solid body moving across the
> runways towards the cargo hangars during the
> night. A Port Authority vehice was
> investigating within minutes but did not find
> anything. This appears to support our hope that
> Vivi may be hiding in the cargo hangars, however.
>
> We want everyone to know that the search in
> spite of reports to the contrary continues
> unabated, both via helicopter and patrolled
> cars. (The perimeter of the airport, included
> 21 miles of waterfront, is circumnavigated
> non-stop every few minutes 24 hours every day
> of the year.) The Port Authorities have been
> exceptionally helpful, granting unique access
> for us to search the airport: this is not
> easily given, and never to more than two
> persons at one time. Since 9/11 airport
> security has tightened a lot, and although we
> wish that admittance could be given for Search
> and Rescue teams, other whippets or even horses
> (since Vivi spends most days in a horse barn),
> we have to realize that this will not be
> granted for security reasons. The Search and
> Rescue dogs were also called off since the lack
> of tracks in the water which covers most of the
> airport would make their job impossible.
>
> I am hoping to get back to New York early
> next week, depending on the developments. This
> is a hellish situation which I don't want
> anyone to ever have to experience. My only
> comforts have been my dogs and the wonderful
> support we have been given by everyone, both friends and unknow dog lovers.
>
> On behalf of Vivi's owners, Jil and Paul, I
> want to thank all of you for your help and
> kindness in these trying days. Vivi is lucky to
> have so many people who care for her. I hope
> somehow that she can feel it, wheverever she
> is. We are still hoping that there will be a
> happy ending and will keep you informed as far
> as possible. I will try to get back to everyone
> who has written personally when I can, but that will take some time.
>
> I hope the above makes sense. My mind is
> not functioning really well right now.
>
> Again, thank you.
>
> Bo Bengtson

Re: Lost Westminster Dog UPDATE on bottom of the page

The latest update - Sorry, I am obsessed with this story
CBS) QUEENS With few physical clues to the whereabouts of an escaped show dog, the hunt for the award-winning whippet has entered another realm.

About 12 psychics are counseling searchers as they check the heated cargo buildings near where Vivi escaped from a travel cage at Kennedy International Airport, Paul Lepiane, the dog's co-owner, told Newsday for Tuesday editions.

"They are telling us that she is alive, and they are telling us she is warm," said Honi Reisman, a friend of the dog's owners. "They are saying she's in a building -- but there are hundreds of buildings."

According to breeder Bo Bengtson, the animal bolted across the tarmac last week at 25 mph as workers chased her on foot and in three cars. The 3-year-old whippet, also known as Champion Bohem C'est La Vie, nosed into a marsh area and disappeared.

The dog's escape came within days of winning an award of merit at the Westminster Kennel Club show, the nation's most prestigious.

Lepiane said dog droppings consistent with the 30-pound whippet's were found Monday behind an airport cargo building. He has announced a $5,000 reward for Vivi.

The 3-year-old whippet apparently escaped her travel cage on the JFK tarmac as she was about to be put aboard a plane for the flight home to California.

Vivi was wearing a black wool sweater and a collar with her owner's phone number. She also has an inserted microchip with contact information.

More than 2,600 dogs were entered in the Westminster show at Madison Square Garden, including 25 whippets, a sleek, short-haired breed similar to a greyhound.

Re: Lost Westminster Dog UPDATE on bottom of the page

Re: Lost Westminster Dog UPDATE on bottom of the page

I am still hopeful that they will find her okay

Re: Lost Westminster Dog UPDATE on bottom of the page

I think they are willing to try anything at this point...and I certainly hope they find her alive also.

Re: Lost Westminster Dog UPDATE on bottom of the page

Re: Lost Westminster Dog UPDATE on bottom of the page

Does anybody else think the dog was captured by someone sick who is waiting for the reward money to get higher?