Dog Related: Interesting

thelmanelle · Dog Related: Interesting

http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-sprin...ing-dogs-20110212,0,1370937.story

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. —

A Springfield man is going far beyond putting-up posters in his search for his three missing dogs. A world-renowned pet detective has been called in to track down the pooches that might have been stolen.

"They are my family, they are my world," Harry Charalambous said about his missing dogs. "These to me are my babies. They are my children."

Which is why he's on a frantic search. It started last month when his pooches disappeared.

"Not having them around has been very devastating," Charalambous said. "I would do anything I can in the world and I will try as hard as I can to get my dogs back."

Charalambous reached out to Karin Tarqwyn. Tarqwyn has been featured on Animal Planet and MSNBC, now she brings her expertise of searching for missing pets to the Ozarks.

"I started this in 2004 when my own dog went missing and realized that grief I was experiencing," Tarqwyn said.

Her team includes search dogs that'll hopefully help track down Missy, Sophie, and Littlebit.

"It's a process just like any other," Tarqwyn said. "If a person goes missing you start with your leads and the first thing you want to figure out is, did the person walk away or did they go under- possibly not their free will."

The dogs do their investigation around Charalambous' house. They bark at Tarqwyn saying their noses don't recognize Charalambous' dogs' scent.

"A no-scent alert," Tarqwyn said, "that means they left here and they didn't leave of their own will."

This seems to confirm Harry's belief. His dogs were stolen.

"I am trying to be positive in the fact that they are out there," Charalambous said.

The trek continues through neighborhoods where the dogs may have been sighted. But again, the trail turns cold. This pet detective and pet owner are preparing for the long haul.

"My goal is to find my babies," Charalambous said, "and I will continue and keep going until we get them back."

Harry's three dogs are micro-chipped.

The detective says she's reunited dozens of dogs with their masters across the country.

There are many possibilities of what might have happened to Missy, Sophie and Littlebit. A growing trend is people stealing dogs and selling them in parking lots for cash.

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