'I'm Not Sleeping': Lindenhurst Woman Pleas For Return Of Missing Dogs

LINDENHURST, NY — On the morning of Feb. 5 — five days before her 25th birthday — Heather Duryea was making breakfast, when the unthinkable happened.

She spent the previous night at her friend's house and brought her two long-haired German Shepherd puppies, 18-month-old Sarabi and Nova, just 6-months-old.

In the morning, Duryea let the dogs out into her friend's fenced yard. She spent no more than 10 minutes mixing their dog food with nutritional supplements.

"Within that 10 minutes, they just disappeared," she said.

The dogs were nowhere to be found in the yard, on the street, or in the neighborhood.

"I didn't hear barking," she said. "I didn't hear commotion."

Duryea and her friend immediately searched the surrounding area for her puppies. The house was near the Great South Bay and on a canal; they checked with dock officials, a nearby restaurant, and neighbors.

But 10 days later, the dogs remain missing, with no leads.

Duryea will offer a $1,500 reward for the return of her dogs, "no questions asked" she told Patch.

"We want them home. We miss them," she said. "Wherever they are, I hope they're safe."

Since her dogs went missing, the Lindenhurst native said her whole routine has changed.

"I'm not sleeping," she said.

Instead of celebrating on her 25th birthday, Duryea canceled a ski trip and spent the day searching for her dogs.

"Last year's birthday I was in the hospital, I had surgeries," she said. "It was two birthdays in a row."

Her dogs, she said, were friendly and would get along with almost everyone.

"They would go everywhere with me," she said. "Everyone loved them. They were just such happy-go-lucky dogs."

Duryea told Patch she believes the purebred Shepherds, who cost $3,000 each, were taken. Suffolk County Police and Animal Control are also aware of their disappearance, she said.

Although her friend's house and neighbors have security cameras, the videos were disabled at the time of the dogs' disappearance.

"I truly believe that now at this point in time, it's all too convenient that no one has footage," she said. "The neighbors' cameras, our cameras, aren't working. It's just it's just a little too convenient for me. "

Both dogs are not neutered.

Duryea had intended on showing both Sarabi and Nova, as they both came from notable breeding lines. Sarabi's parents, she said, are directly from Germany.

Although her world turned upside down, she said that the Long Island community has actively showed up to help find the dogs.

Every day, she receives tips of sightings from Patchogue to as far as Nassau County.

"The first thing I do when I wake up is post something on Facebook and go through my notifications," Duryea said.

But with more sightings, the more overwhelming it is to search, and the greater the frustration when she returns home without the dogs.

"I love how everyone's reaching out to me and saying they're seeing the Shepherds. There's a sighting in Babylon, there's a sighting in Patchogue," she said. "But I can't cover all these areas."

Duryea said that many people have also donated to a GoFundMe, to help fund the reward. If the dogs do not return in a month, she will return the money to the donors.

She worries that soon, Nova will be unrecognizable, as she is a fast-growing puppy.

If you see the dogs, do not confront them, she said. Instead, take a picture or video of them and contact: 631-530-2715.

"At this point, I just hope they're still together, and they're safe," she said. "I'm really praying for a miracle."

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.