[Katys mom]

A cash reward is offered for the return of Trisha Royal's Yorkie, a 3-pound stand-in spokesman for Citizens for Animal Protection. She'd prefer to believe he ran off when a gate was left open.

COURTESY OF TRISHA ROYAL

June 8, 2007, 1:48AM
Dog gone: Shelter rep missing
Joey, a fill-in 'ambassador,' ran off or was stolen in break-in

By SALATHEIA BRYANT
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

He may not be a household name like Lassie or Benji, but Joey, a 10-year-old Yorkshire terrier, is a celebrity in his own right.

A 3-pound stand-in spokesdog for Citizens For Animal Protection since 2001, Joey has been the lure at trade shows, a therapy tool at nursing homes and an educational prop at schools to teach responsible pet ownership.

Wednesday, Joey may have become a crime statistic.

Someone broke into the home of his owner, Trisha Royal, taking a computer and jewelry. Joey, a purebred Yorkie, also was missing. The back door and gate were left open, meaning Joey may have run away. The only witnesses were Royal's two cats, Moonbeam and Mr. Magoo.

"He's gone," said Royal, the shelter's community outreach director. "He's in the hands of someone else. I don't want to believe it (that he was stolen) because it decreases the probability of his return."

Joey came to the shelter as a stray in 2001. When no one claimed him, Royal adopted him.

Eventually, she began taking him to events to represent the shelter. He was a natural — tiny, cute, able to sit still and capable of getting people to dig into their pockets to give. Whenever Dixie, the shelter's official ambassador, couldn't make events, Joey was there to fill in.

"Not all animals can do this job. He looks people in the eye," Royal said. "Some dogs don't want to be petted. These dogs can be manhandled from children coming at them from all directions, and they can just sit there. He's the same as a seeing eye dog. He's needed."

Desperate for his return, Royal consulted a psychic who thinks he was stolen, possibly given to an elderly person. Joey was wearing a collar and tag.

It is not unusual for small-breed dogs to be taken. Across the nation, they have been taken from owners, pet stores, doggy day cares, even dog shows. Royal estimates a Yorkie could fetch $800 to $1,500.

Courtney Clark, a spokeswoman with the Houston Humane Society, said the group occasionally hears stories about dogs being taken from backyards; stories abound about dogs being used as bait to train animals to fight and for medical research.

"We hear people go away on vacation and the animal is missing. It does not just happen to purebred dogs," Clark said.

Although he educated and entertained, Joey has had his own challenges. He's had hip surgery, knee surgery and has some dental issues. He also has been sterilized.

His disappearance left the folks at CAP saddened.

"I view it as a kidnapping," said Kim Hogstrom, a volunteer at CAP for community outreach. "They (Dixie and Joey) have developed a following at this point. This is a member of an immediate family. The whole shelter is miserable."

A cash reward is being offered for Joey's return.