CLARKSDALE, Miss. — A desperate search is on for two small dogs taken when a vehicle was stolen in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Thursday afternoon.
One of the missing dogs is in need of seizure medication.
“The Papillon Prissy is on medication,” said the dogs’ owner Lilly Safley. “She has seizures, and she’s been without them for 24 hours now, and when she gets really, really scared, that is when she starts having them.”
Prissy and a Pomeranian named Weasel were both in their carriers in the back seat of their groomer’s SUV when the vehicle was stolen from outside the Regional One Mental Health Center on Cheryl Street.
Jennie Babb, a part-time groomer, said she was waiting outside her office for her daughter to come pick up the dogs and stepped away from her running vehicle for a second to let a patient in the building when someone drove off in her car.
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“All I could think is I know where I left the car because I pulled it under a shade tree to sit and wait on my daughter, who was almost there,” said Babb. “I knew it was gone. I just couldn’t believe it.”
Clarksville Police said her 2017 charcoal gray RAV4 was last seen on their SkyCop camera leaving the city and headed east on Highway 6.
“There have been so many helpful people out looking for my babies, but we have not turned up anything, and this is what is scary because they could have been left in a hot car,” said Safley. “It doesn’t take long now, or they could have hurt them in some way.”
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Safley, who is battling lung disease, was at Vanderbilt in Nashville when her rescue dogs were stolen. She is offering a $1,000 reward for the safe return of Prissy and Weasel.
“There are no questions asked. Just give me my babies and you can have your reward,” said Safley.
Babb said they had contacted every animal shelter and law enforcement agency in the surrounding area and plan to put up a digital billboard to find the dogs. She said she could care less about her stolen car.
“I’ve taken care of those dogs all of their lives,” said Babb. “They are like mine. I’ve been dog sitting and grooming for 12 years now. We are just devastated.”
Babb said the front of her RAV4 has a tag with two cardinals on it.
If you spot the SUV or the dogs, call the Clarksdale/Coahoma County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or the number on the poster.