‘Smurf’ is a rescue Yorkie, named after the _ctional cartoon character because of its size, weighing only about three pounds and its left eye missing, surgically removed last year due to an aneurism. Saturday, January 13th, he went missing from his owner’s yard at 919 S. Arch St. in Aransas Pass. ‘Smurf’ is a trained service animal and will detect when 64-year-old Debbie Greenlee’s blood sugar gets too high, a potential life-threatening condition for the Type 2 diabetic. (Courtesy: Debbie Greenlee)
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A RING camera system monitors both the front and back of the household that can be viewed on a smartphone App. Greenlee acknowledged a technical issue with one of the cameras may explain a gap where a recording doesn’t exist of the exact time line of the dog’s disappearance. (Courtesy: Debbie Greenlee)
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Greenlee (right) and sister Stephany Launder, 60 (left), moved to Aransas Pass from Seguin, near San Antonio, in August. They believe someone intentionally opened a side gate to their fenced front yard and may have taken the pet, but why and who remains a mystery. Several rewards are being offered for his return, no questions asked. (Aransas Pass Progress)
Family pets go missing every day. Follow social media platforms like Facebook and you will see reports about dogs, cats, sometimes even birds that go astray. The reasons why vary. But for an Aransas Pass family, the loss of their rescue dog, ‘Smurf’ – a three-pound Yorkie – is proving even more devastating and heartwrenching than most. Besides the fact he Is one eyed, the left one removed last year to an aneurism, ‘Smurf’ is also a trained service dog. When owner Debbie Greenlee’s blood sugar gets too high, her beloved pet can warn her before the potential life-threatening condition gets worse. Greenlee is a Type 2 diabetic and takes prescription medication to manage it.
“He slept in the bed with me. He would put his head on my shoulder,” the 64-year-old said, who with her sister, 60-year-old Stephany Launder, relocated to Aransas Pass from Seguin near San Antonio just last August. They purchased a home at 919 S. Arch St. ‘Smurf’ along with several other pets had been in their fenced front yard on Saturday, January 13th, and the Yorkie was last seen around 4:30 that afternoon.
In both the front and back of the house, Greenlee has RING cameras set up that could be monitored 24/7/365 with an App on her smartphone. She acknowledged a technical issue with one of the cameras may explain a gap where a recording doesn’t exist of the exact time- line of the dog’s disappearance which wasn’t noted until close to three hours later, at 7:30 p.m.
“He’s so li_le,” Debbie described the dog, her and her sister adopting ‘Smurf’ In 2017.
Mystery surrounds how and why ‘Smurf’ vanished. The only thing the family knows for certain is that a side gate was discovered open and their other dogs were found roaming in and around the property’s driveway.
“It wasn’t a predator,” Greenlee ruled out as a hypothetical, believing the other, larger dogs who were with ‘Smurf’ that day would have certainly proven a deterrent. Instead, she surmises that someone intentionally accessed the yard, possibly spo_ing the Yorkie and its size as a pet that could be stolen easily, even silently. Maybe it was teens, or other youths in the area. Debbie just doesn’t know, and the worry, fear, and anxiety grows exponentially each day.
“I just want him back,” Greenlee extended a plea to a possible abductor, promising no questions asked for his return, and no criminal prosecution. As an incentive, she even offered a financial reward, while not disclosing the exact amount. Another animal advocate in the community, she revealed, agreed to put up even more money, with updates on ‘Smurf’s’ disappearance regularly appearing in the Aransas Pass Community page on Facebook (h_ps://www. facebook.com/groups/ 2198489036842306).
“REWARD!! REWARD!! REWARD!!,” Greenlee posted on the page Monday, February 5th.
“This is the 3rd update on my ongoing search for Smurf. By now, I’m sure everyone knows his name. This is a direct message to the person or persons who removed him from my yard, S. Arch St., and McClung in Aransas Pass. You will not be able to take him to a vet or to a groomer as we have notifi ed them all that he is missing. With his unique color and the fact that he only has one right eye, he will be very hard to hide. I have given you every opportunity to return him, and you have not done so. People have offered you a different dog and a reward, and you still choose to keep him. He and I are very a_ached, and I cannot imagine the stress that he must be under, not knowing what happened to his Mom. Again, I plead with you, please return him to me. If you care at all about his well-being, you will return him to his home,” Greenlee wrote, acknowledging the dog is microchipped.
“He’s not a wanderer,” Debbie explained, adding to her belief ‘Smurf’ was taken, the dog rarely leaving her sight unless he’s in an enclosed yard.
“I’m going to make him famous,” Greenlee promised, using whatever measure she could to raise awareness of the ongoing search. She’s printed flyers that have been posted on utility poles, too, hoping they’ll get noticed.
When ‘Smurf’ went missing he wore a blue fabric collar with its name embroidered on it and Greenlee’s phone number if he ever went missing, (361) 261-5058. She and her sister were proceeding with filing an official report with Aransas Pass Police.
“Smurf goes with me everywhere. Everywhere,” Debbie repeated, explaining the bat wing costume in one of the photographs being spread on social media is when she dressed him in a Halloween costume last October for an event in Rockport.
“I just want my dog back,” Greenlee pleaded, sadness visibly taking its toll. Her late husband was a Vietnam veteran, and she’s on Social Security, so between his military pension she receives as a surviving spouse and her once-a-month check, things are tight. She hoped if ‘Smurf’ was still alive the person keeping him wasn’t expecting a windfall for his return.
Greenlee has also accepted the possibility her service dog is dead, either the result of human hands, or some other untimely fate. It’s not easy to stomach. She’d like to recover his remains, if they exist, to lay him to rest properly if that was the eventuality.
“I’d like to bury him. For my own peace of mind,” Debbie said, offering thoughts about what ‘Smurf’ was likely thinking not seeing her these many weeks.
“What happened to my mom? Why did she abandon me?” she imagined he must be asking, believing even dogs have memories and feelings for those who love them, too.
“He’s neutered,” Debbie explained, meaning he had no value for a breeder. “He’s friendly,” she continued, a behavioral trait that accounts for why he probably didn’t resist the a_ention of another person.
“He’s on my credit card,” Debbie pulled out her Security Service Federal Credit Union Mastercard, ‘Smurf’s’ face emblazoned on front. When she used it recently at the Ingleside Whataburger, an employee immediately recognized the dog having seen similar images posted by Greenlee on Facebook.
“Is that the dog?” Greenlee repeated what the employee asked, confi rming it was the face of ‘Smurf’.
In Port Aransas, Greenlee has received correspondence from a resident who agreed to keep a lookout, should the dog have been carried across the ship channel on a TXDOT ferry. Debbie shared that the homeowner who contacted her said she was “stopping every Yorkie she saw” on the island to check.
“People are looking for him everywhere,” Greenlee said, moved by the passion and interest her missing dog case has generated online, grateful. Moved emotionally.
“Someone who took him may be scared,” she hypothesized, worried that they may have to answer to the police, or worse. Greenlee again assured that whoever may have ‘Smurf’ she just wanted her dog back. Money would change hands, and that would be that. No questions asked.
Each day, Debbie and her sister drive around, looking for their dog, calling out his name, block after block, street after street, holding out hope.
“Call me. I’ll come get him and give them the reward any time of the day or night,” she promised whoever may have ‘Smurf’.
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