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Reward offered for information on Seffner dognappers

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 30, 2009

Updated: 04/30/2009 08:58 am

Pat Henson wants her dog back.

Two men broke into Henson's house in the Parsons Point subdivision in Seffner on April 14 while she was at the supermarket and took not only electronics, but also Henson's 4-year-old terrier-Maltese mix, Millie.

"I don't care about the stuff. We've got insurance," Henson, 53, said this morning. "But nobody's going to replace Millie."

Crime Stoppers today announced a reward of $1,000 for information leading to whoever took the dog. Millie weighs about 10 pounds, has long, light-tan fur and a bobbed tail, and was wearing a pink collar with Hillsborough County tag 000174.

The dog, which Henson and her husband adopted from Hillsborough County Animal Services, also is implanted with a microchip, which has her owners' information.

The couple brought the dog home in October after the cat they had owned for 18 years died. Millie, who had been a stray, quickly charmed them.

"She sat on my lap all the time," Henson said. "She sits and shakes hands, and she loves to have her stomach rubbed."

The Hillsborough sheriff's office said the burglars shattered a sliding-glass door to enter the house in the 700 block of Parsons Point Street. They backed a white, 1980s-model Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra with missing chrome trim on the trunk lid up to the garage and took electronics, valued at several thousand dollars, plus Millie.

The men are described as black and in their late teens or early 20s. One is about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 170 pounds. The other is about 5 feet 8 inches tall and has a stocky build.

Anyone with information about the men or the dog's whereabouts should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477 or go to www.crimestopperstb.com.

Henson said she is baffled as to why someone would steal her dog.

"She's a beautiful dog, but she's not a pedigree," Henson said.

She urged whoever has the dog to drop Millie off at Animal Services, which she checks daily.

"If they really want her to be happy, they'll let her come home," she said.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800.

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