$1,000 Reward Offered for Meatball's Safe Return

Alina Diaz, who works at her Seminole Heights home, let her two dogs out to sun themselves in her fenced-in backyard while she stepped inside for a phone meeting.

Twenty minutes later, she opened the door to let her two shih tzus back in, but only Moxie was there.

Meatball, a rescue dog, was gone. She seemed to disappear in plain sight.

Since March 8, Alina Diaz has scoured her Seminole Heights neighborhood, posted flyers and even created a Facebook Page to "Bring Meatball Home." Still there is no sign of her dog.

She is grief-stricken over the loss of Meatball and offering a $1,000 cash reward, no questions asked, for Meatball's safe return. Contact Diaz at 813-758-9921 or email Adiaz1016@ymail.com

The dog also may be dropped off anonymously at Fuzzy Buddies, a groomer, at 1212 North 34th St., just east of Ybor City.

Mystery of Meatball's Disappearance

What's so vexing to Diaz is that Meatball, rescued flea-infested and starving from a hoarder two years ago, is not prone to wander. "Meaty" just liked to snooze on the back porch. Plus the chain-link fence was closed.

Just what happened to Diaz’ six-year-old dog?

The most promising clue came from the Luxury Auto Mall on North Florida Avenue. Diaz’ property shares a back alleyway with Luxury Auto Mall.

A worker said that he saw a woman put a dog that looked like Meatball into her gold or tan-colored Buick at about 12:30 p.m. on March 8.

He said that he watched the woman call to the dog at Mohawk and North Florida avenues. The woman yelled to the worker that the dog was hers and then drove off with the pup.

The car dealership even has an image on surveillance video of the older, four-door sedan driving by in the alleyway and making a left on to Mohawk Avenue.

The video shows her opening her car door at North Florida and Mohawk avenues. “It’s so grainy that it’s hard to tell the make of the car,” said Diaz, who viewed the video.

Diaz said that police have told her that they cannot help, because the woman was seen lifting the dog into her car on a public road and not on her property.

Diaz talked with Patch about her search for Meatball and her hope that her beloved pooch will return home safely.

Patch:  How did Meatball go missing? Was she taken from your yard or did she get loose?

Alina Diaz: We don’t have proof, so we can’t know for a fact if she was pulled out, coerced  out or if someone physically came in and took her out of the yard. The video footage we saw only covered what happened after she was outside of the yard. 

Patch: What have you done to look for her?    

Diaz: Search parties every night. Posted signs around the neighborhood (8.5x11, then moved to 11x17).  Posted on Craigslist multiple times in pets and lost & found. Facebook page created with daily updates and pictures on Bring Meatball Home. Contacted local vets, businesses, shelters and boarding facilities. PetAmberAlert.com – contacted 75 local businesses and 250 neighbors by fax and phone within a 10 mile radius of where she was last seen. Notified the microchip company. Posted to Facebook pages of local businesses. Visited HCAS and left posters there as well. Notified her boarding facility, groomers and vet. 

Patch: Was she wearing a collar?

Diaz: Unfortunately, no because she was just hanging around the backdoor. However, she does have a microchip!  

Patch: Can you tell me a little about her?

Diaz: Meaty is a very special rescued Shih Tzu with the sweetest demeanor of any dog I have ever known. She will come up to anyone and give them affection. She loves to lay on her back in your arms – like a baby – while you rub her belly. It’s miraculous, actually, that she is so precious.  Before Meaty came to live with my family, she was pulled from the house of a hoarder. When they found her she was flea infested, starved to less than 7 pounds and covered in matted fur, spotted with areas where the hair had be pulled and chewed out.

Meaty was there for me when my first puppy died of cancer. She was there for me when sweet baby Shih Tzu Moxie took over the household and she was there for me through all the ups and downs that life has thrown at me over the past several years. She is my Meaty ball of goodness – precious in every way.    

Patch: Anything else you want to add about Meatball?

Diaz: She is very friendly and will not bite. She does have a microchip that any vet can use to identify her as well. It is so important that if someone should see her, that they either try to call her to them or not let her out of their sight until I am contacted to come get her. She moves fast and time is of the essence!  

For more information

 The Facebook Page is "Bring Meatball Home."