Dogs, Cats, and Other People by Matthew Margolis

A dognapped chorkie, a $10,000 reward and a promise not to prosecute. All of this led me to wonder: Chorkie?

A chorkie is a dash of Chihuahua and a dollop of Yorkshire terrier — in other words, a mutt, a mongrel, a mixed breed.

On the night of June 5, in Concord, Calif., Debby Brown and her boyfriend stepped into a local eatery for some takeout, leaving Lexi the chorkie in Brown's locked car with the air conditioner running. Moments later they returned to find a broken car window and a missing dog.

Brown and her boyfriend posted fliers around town and notices online offering a $10,000 cash reward for the safe return of Lexi, no questions asked. After several false alarms, Brown received a text message on Sunday that included a photo of Lexi. She told CBS News that she "knew it was Lexi the moment she got the text."

The rest of the story reads as though Benji had guest-starred in an episode of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency." Brown's boyfriend agreed to meet the senders of the text message in a Petco parking lot early Monday morning. Concerned for her safety, he told Brown to stay home. At Petco, the boyfriend swapped the cash for the dog, and mum's been the word ever since from both he and Brown. After all, a promise is a promise.

As bizarre as this story is, it serves at least one purpose: as an anecdote for why it's not a good idea to leave your dog alone in the car.

Most people know that it's never wise to leave small children alone in a car. Even with the windows cracked, they could suffer heatstroke, which can cause permanent brain damage or death.

And with the windows closed and the air conditioner cranked, the kiddies will be comfy and cool as they toy with the gears and clown around on the gas pedal, possibly setting the car in motion and causing a serious accident. If that's not bad enough, they could be snatched from the car in a matter of minutes, just like Lexi. In fact, all of these nightmare scenarios could just as easily play out with your dog as with your child.

It strikes me as questionable that a woman who would offer such a generous ransom for the safe return of her dog wouldn't take minimal care to exercise one of at least three safe, viable options to locking her dog in a running car:

— leave the treasured pet safely at home

— pack the pooch into her bag and tote her into the restaurant, as so many owners of small designer dogs are wont to do

— enlist the brief dog-sitting services of her boyfriend while she runs in to pick up the food, or vice versa.

I'm no detective, but as it stands, the facts of this case don't hold a lot of water. Then again, neither does forking over thousands of dollars for a "designer dog" that is, in fact, no better or worse than any free mutt you'll find in a shelter. You just can't weigh a good dog in dollars.

Woof!

Dog trainer Matthew "Uncle Matty" Margolis is co-author of 18 books about dogs, a behaviorist, a popular radio and television guest, and host of the PBS series "WOOF! It's a Dog's Life!" Read all of Uncle Matty's columns at the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com, and visit him at www.unclematty.com. Send your questions to dearuncle.gazette@unclematty.com or by mail to Uncle Matty at P.O. Box 3300, Diamond Springs, CA 95619.

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