Woman Desperate To Find Dog, Sammie, Reported Stolen From Vet

MASTIC BEACH, NY — A Mastic Beach woman is desperate to find her dog, who she believes was stolen from a local vet after being lost last month.

According to Samantha Mack Anderson, her dog Sammie, a 6-month-old, 15. lb. pit bull slipped out of her collar while outside her home on Manhasset Drive in Mastic Beach. Frantic to find her puppy, she posted about her missing dog on social media, she said.

While she was soon thrilled to hear that Sammie had been found by a local woman, when Mack Anderson called Animal Emergency Service in Selden, where the pup had been brought, she was told that someone else had brought what she said was "false paperwork," and claimed her dog.

According to Suffolk County Police, the Mastic Beach woman lost her dog, a female pit bull, on November 17 at 3:30 p.m. She later saw a post on Facebook that the dog had been found and was taken to the Selden Animal Hospital, police said. When she responded to the animal hospital, an employee told her someone else came and picked up the dog, police said.

The report was made on November 18; Seventh Precinct Crime Section officers are investigating, police said.

A representative of Animal Emergency Service could not comment, but referred the call to Suffolk County police, explaining that the investigation is ongoing.

Despite the police report and frantic Facebook appeals, there has been no word of Sammie's whereabouts, Mack Anderson said. "We're just getting the runaround," she said.

And Sammie's loss comes as a blow during a time when her family is already reeling: Her nephew was the toddler critically injured in a Neighborhood Rd. crash in March, she said.

Of Sammie's disappearance, Mack Anderson said, "I'm so stressed out. I'm drained. My son, 13, is very shaken up. He comes home from school every day and asks, 'Any news? Did Sammie come home?'"

Sammie, she said, is a loving, sweet, playful puppy, who has been trained and is a beloved part of the family. Even her other dog, Princess, is distraught, she said; the dog refused to eat for days after Sammie went missing.

If she could speak to whoever has her dog, Mack Anderson has a message: "I just want them to return my dog. I don't want anyone arrested. I just want my dog back."

A poster for Sammie said "a large reward" is offered for Sammie's return, with no questions asked. If you have any information about Sammie's location, call 516-395-9618.