AR-News: (US) Truck-driving couple's beloved deaf pug stolen along with their rig

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Little dog lost
Truck-driving couple's beloved deaf pug stolen along with their rig

By Bette Nunn
Hoosier Times

Sunday, August 31, 2003

 
A poster being circulated by John and Jackie Rothenberg, truck drivers from Atlanta, Ga., offers a reward for the return of their 8-year-old deaf pug dog, Ladybug.
Staff photo by Jon Hancuff  
 
 
John and Jackie Rothenberg 
Martinsville

This is not just a story of a little lost dog. This lost dog is a deaf pug with a tale that could be right out of a Lassie Come Home movie. 

Except this little dog can't find her way home, and so far there is no happy ending for the tan and black pug with a curly tail.

"Ladybug," as she is affectionately called by her owners, truckers John and Jackie Rothenberg of Atlanta, Ga., had the unfortunate luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Her owners had picked up a load of electronic items for a Chattanooga, Tenn., trucking company in Elgin, Ill., on July 23. They were headed for a Wal-Mart in Florida.

In Lebanon, Ind., they parked outside the Flying J truck stop to grab a bite to eat. 

John Rothenberg said they left the ignition on and the truck locked, as truckers often do. Ladybug was back in the sleeper. When they returned to the place where they left the truck, it was gone. 

So was Ladybug.

Because of the incident and the fact there was a company rule that one person had to stay with the truck, the two lost their jobs, said Rothenberg. 

Before looking for other employment, they took about two weeks off to look for the truck and retrieve their pet. 

"We have no children. Ladybug's like our child. She's certainly my wife's child," he said. He explained that six years ago they had saved the dog from a bad situation when they were associated with the Pug Rescue organization in Phoenix, Ariz. 

His wife said she worked for the organization for 17 years. She usually had the names of people who would adopt the pugs. 

The animal shelter staff called her and asked her if she wanted to take Ladybug. She agreed to do so. The couple got the dog just before she was to be euthanized by the shelter because she was so near death.

Ladybug had been in a puppy mill before the shelter got her. The small pug was underfed and her ribs could be counted. She was infested with ticks and she had a serious ear infection that resulted in her deafness. 

"It took six months to get her looking like a pug again. She started sleeping on my pillow next to my head and has slept there ever since. I guess that's why losing her hurts so much. She had already gone through so much," Jackie Rothenberg said in a shaky voice.

Her husband said: "Ladybug's very friendly and loyal. She never barked. She is probably disoriented and scared now." 

But he said she might not respond to a friendly person trying to help her because she's deaf and cannot hear when called. A person would have to stoop down and hold out a hand to her, he commented.

Rothenberg said the stolen truck was recovered in Georgetown, Ind., just north of Louisville, Ky. A computer built into it and a global tracking system helped in determining miles traveled and possible destinations. They learned that the tracking system was cut at Ind. 67 and Interstate-465.

Reward

The Rothenbergs went up and down the state from Lebanon to Kentucky, putting out flyers, advertising in newspapers, offering a $500 reward and asking questions. 

Someone called from Martinsville. He and his wife checked the maps and information they had and felt it was a good possibility the thieves had come this way, cut across to Ind. 37 and put out the dog in the vicinity of Ind. 37 and 44, where Shirley Firsich thought she had seen it

Firsich said that when Jackie Rothenberg talked to her about their dog, she was near tears.

The couple came to Martinsville on Aug. 24 and Fersich took them to the place where others in the neighborhood had also reported seeing an unfamiliar pug. 

They spoke with six to eight people who felt the lost pug had been roaming Shireman Estates.

Shireman resident Sue Johnson thought she had seen the little dog and asked The Reporter-Times for help. She figured if enough people read about it they could join in a search, scour the area and help rescue it. 

"I am an animal lover and just want to do anything I can to help find the little dog." John Rothenberg said, "It's too much coincidence not to be her (Ladybug)."

The Rothenbergs have started driving for a freight company in Jacksonville, Fla. They are visiting Martinsville again this weekend. 

They are handing out flyers, talking to people and searching for Ladybug. They are especially looking over Shireman Estates.

John Rothenberg told the newspaper that the people here were friendly and that he really liked Martinsville. His wife said that she had never met people so friendly and willing to help out. 

Both of them said they are thinking of moving here. 

Anyone who spots the little dog or is able to rescue it may call the Rothenbergs' cell phone at 317-441-7133. Firsich is also willing to contact the Rothenbergs if the dog is found. Her number is 765-349-8337.