Why, Vivi, Why?

The American news media have, as usual, been recently devoting copious amounts of coverage to a story that, in a sane world, would barely register 30 seconds in a fourth grader's current events presentation. The particular story of which I write is that of Vivi the Whippet, the enigmatic show dog who tore down the tarmac at JFK Airport a couple of weeks ago moments before boarding the plane that would have transported her back to her California home.

Now, I have always been an animal lover and in my life I've experienced my own share of heartache over lost pets. The sight of a hand-drawn "Lost Dog" or "Lost Cat" poster, with the requisite family pet photo, on the bulletin board at my local grocery store brings me to tears if I stare at it for too long. So don't think I'm a callous and horrible person for questioning whether the search for Vivi should continue. I mean, I watched The Incredible Journey more than a few times as a kid and it seems to me that if a pet wants to come home, it will try to get there. When that's not possible, it will at least allow itself to be brought home by those who want to help it. But Vivi doesn't seem to want to be helped. And this has been one hell of a tough pill to take for the throngs of people who have joined the search for Vivi.

A recent L.A. Times article included the following quote from Bobbi Giordano, an animal rescue worker from Queens, on the emotional toll that the suspense of the hunt has taken on its participants: "It's like alcoholism....You just have to find out where, when, why. It's an obsession now. I don't think it has to do with the breed, or that it's a famous dog or anything. I don't even think it's the money anymore. I think it's just the love." Some, like Oklahoma pet detective Karen Goin, worry that the mean streets of New York may be too tough for the coddled California canine. Goin told the Times: "She's displaced, and has no bonds to anybody here....I've lived in cities, and I can assure you: New York was very different to me, and I'm a human."

It's a bizarre case of the hunter hunted, with people leaving out large hunks of cooked meat and other treats in the hopes that the troubled pooch can be lured back to captivity. The monetary reward that has recently been offered for Vivi has drawn some pragmatic Queens residents to the search who might not otherwise volunteer to wrangle a $15,000 whippet. Witness the following anecdote from the Times:

"Posters throughout the area advertise a $5,000 reward, which has brought another wave of searchers onto the scene. Among them is Vinny Chieffo, a cake delivery man, who has been scanning wooded areas after his shift ends at 3:30 a.m. Chieffo said his 14-year-old son wants to go to camp this summer, but the family could not afford it. The whippet seemed to offer an answer. "I mean, I like dogs. I'd really like to see this person get her dog back," said Chieffo, 48. "But I really need the money.""

Now that's a news headline I'd like to see: "Whippet Windfall Gives Deserving Queens Youth a First Chance at Summer Camp." It's so Dickensian, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Unfortunately, the longer Vivi is at large, the more likely she will revert to being completely feral. I've heard most whippets live on the edge of feral-ity (?) all their lives. Maybe Vivi wants it this way. Who knows--she may turn up at a rehab clinic in Palm Springs a couple months from now, unkempt, apologetic, and ready to talk to Oprah about the whole experience. Or maybe she'll spend the rest of her life in the mountains of Idaho, her life interrupted only occasionally by fleeting reminiscences of her high-flying past.

Vivi is the veritable Patty Hearst of lost pets. The future may hold few explanations as to the reasons for her escape from civilized society. In the meantime, maybe her owners could learn to love another pet--this time one from the local humane society that has been waiting all its life to run towards a home, not away from one. I'm getting choked up just thinking about it. Jeez, no more pet blogs. It's just too damn hard. Why, Vivi, why?