NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Milkshake the dog remains unaccounted for after police arrested two teens suspected of dognapping her in the Bronx last month and demanding cash from her devastated owner.
“As of right now, Milkshake is not recovered,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a press briefing Tuesday. “They inform us that Milkshake ran away. We checked all the shelters who still have posters up, but Milkshake is nowhere to be found.”
The heartbreaking update came after the NYPD announced they'd arrested two 16-year-old girls Monday in connection with the theft of the 10-year-old dachshund. The teens, who have not been identified because of their age, were charged with grand larceny and harassment.
Kenny said the teens called Milkshake's owner to “try a little bit of extortion,” allegedly telling her they’d “give you your dog back if you give us money.”
Police believe the two suspects are the same teens seen on May 4 surveillance video taking Milkshake from a hallway of an apartment building on Tiffany Street in Longwood where they—and the dog's owner—reside.
The owner, Luz Montanez, told 1010 WINS last week that Milkshake is her best friend who she got when she was just a three-week-old pup.
Montanez said the nightmare was made all the worse because the dognappers had been prank calling her nearly every day—even on Mother's Day—barking into the phone and taunting her family. "Kids start calling her, start messing with her, start fooling with her," Kenny said of the harassment.
"It's very upsetting," Montanez said, "especially when they're doing mocking sounds, like they'll make barking sounds in the back. They know who I am. They know my name. They know my dog's name. So it's just evil. It's very, very, very mean."