It’s been two years since Vivi the Whippet escaped from her crate as it was being loaded for a flight home to California after she competed in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. She was last seen on Feb. 15, 2006 running across the tarmac, through a barbed wire fence, and disappearing into the marshland of the 4900-acre complex at Kennedy International Airport. A Whippet can sprint over 35 mph, which is faster than a white tailed deer. Vivi, whose full name is Bohem C’est La Vie, was ranked among the top Whippets in the country. She had earned an invitation to the 2007 American Kennel Club National Championships. Animal rights groups (::cough::cough:: PETA) delight in releasing show dogs from cages to free them—to panic, run into traffic, get injured, lost or killed—but there was no sign that this was anything but a terrible accident by the airline. Vivi was a seasoned traveler, comfortable in her crate, which had a security bar. A massive search was conducted, including by helicopter. When she wasn’t found, her owners sadly returned to California, but the search went on. Rewards, flyers in seven languages, and a media circus turned up no sign of Vivi. Delta Air Lines paid out $2,800, as it would for a lost piece of baggage of that size and weight. Vivi’s value was estimated at $20,000. Today her whereabouts remain a mystery. She isn’t a dog that can be easily disguised or hidden in a purse. At one time 35 pet psychics were involved. They all have their own visions, such as: Vivi grew tired of her life as a show dog and just wants to be a companion animal someplace on a couch in Brooklyn where she is well cared for and raising a litter of puppies. Pet psychics? Are they in the Yellow Pages?
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