Blog

Woman won’t return dog to his owner

  • Post author:

Update 8:30pm: Lisa Dank has returned Benny to Mel this evening. She emailed Megan Seling at the Stranger with her side of the story. Click here to read it.

 

On Tuesday, we told you about the cute little Toy Fox Terrier, named Benny, who went missing after getting spooked by some neighborhood fireworks in the middle of the night. Since then, Benny’s owner, Mel Weipert has been posting flyers everywhere, asking for help. Benny’s cute little mug has been all over town with the hopes that Weipert would be as fortunate as Jai Williamson of the Durn Good Grocery, when his dog, Stella, was returned on Sunday.

Yesterday, Weipert wrote to tell me some pretty unsettling news:

A local singer named Lisa Dank picked Benny up and won’t return him.  I have contacted her twice via email and voicemail and she won’t respond.  Several people have seen with the dog.  We sent out a Facebook message and a woman responded saying she saw Lisa with the dog at a birthday party.  Several people there confirmed it.  Another woman, Jennifer Peterson from Sportin’ Life Records, ran into Lisa prior to the party and Lisa said she was going to keep the dog.  I’m going to get the police involved.  Apparently this singer is rather unbalanced.  She can be seen on YouTube, also at the Comet Tavern tomorrow.

Thanks for listening,
Mel
Weipert also talked to Megan Seling at the Stranger today, and the story gets worse (read the full story from the Stranger here). The police wound up calling the number Weipert had for Dank, and leaving a message saying, “you need to give the dog back to his rightful owner or face criminal charges.” Dank won’t return calls to Weipert, Seling at the Stranger, or the police.
We’ll keep you posted as the drama unfolds.
Photo by Luna

Discover more from Wallyhood

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Margaret

Margaret Steck is a freelance writer, mother of two, and has been a resident of Wallingford since 1996. When she's not out covering the neighborhood schools or any other interesting haps for Wallyhood, Margaret writes articles pertaining to running, parenting, and international adoption.

This Post Has 15 Comments

  2. DOUG. July 8, 2011

    dank adj. : Disagreeably damp, musty, and typically cold.

  4. Jess July 8, 2011

    Ugh, that’s awful. I ran into Benny’s owner on the way back from Wallingford Park on the 4th; he was posting flyers and clearly worried about his dog. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know: jessica dot dimond at gmail dot com.

  5. Lisa July 8, 2011

    Can’t a few folks get together and track her down (especially since you know where she’s performing), and then tail her until you find her with Benny and then snag him? The poor little guy probably just wants his Dad back and to get away from this nutcase…

  6. Suich July 8, 2011

    Uh-oh! Just read the comments at the Stranger. Seems some people are familiar with Ms. Dank and are going to pay her a visit tomorrow at the Comet!

    The story is also on redditt.com.

    Glad the police are involved.

  8. Suich July 8, 2011

    Thanks for the update, Brian! I can’t believe the owner of the Comet got involved…probably didn’t want a riot at his place! Ms. Dank seems a little unhinged!

  9. Margaret July 8, 2011

    Thanks, Brian! I’ve updated our post, too, with a link to the Stranger.

  10. yani July 8, 2011

    I’m glad Benny is home. I hope all Wallingford pets stay home, because this has been a stressful month for locals and their pets.

    Like Stella, it seems it took a community to reunite these families. I wish every lost pet could get this kind of support!

  11. Kate July 8, 2011

    This has been a stressful month for dog lovers of wallingford! We are all so glad that Benny and Stella are both home safely.

  12. K3 July 8, 2011

    Juliane Popelka is a disgusting thing. I hope people show up to the Comet show and throw dog food on her.

  13. Chris W. July 8, 2011

    Yes, Wallingford, we’re 3 for 3 the past 2 weeks. Let’s just see if we can avoid any more lost pets for a while! So glad for Mel & Benny!

  14. scarebaby July 9, 2011

    Some of her twitter comments are pretty — uh, unusual. If you’re on twitter, just search Lisa Dank and read some of her tweets.

  15. iyqtoo July 10, 2011

    So it’s posible Mel needs to keep a little better track of his dog. Yesterday my neighbor found Benny taking himself for another walk and called Mel who came to retrieve him.

    I’m always disappointed at the number of dog owners willing to risk letting their dogs walk themselves in the city. Or maybe the owners are just unwilling to clean up after them…

Comments are closed.