Woman won’t return dog to his owner

Margaret 15 Comments

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

15 Comments

  1. Chris W.
    July 8, 2011 at 2:50 pm

    I don’t think Lisa Dank is her real name. This Imaginary Girls article says it’s Juliane Popelka, if that helps.

    http://threeimaginarygirls.com/contentfeatures/2009dec/lisa-dank

  2. DOUG. DOUG.
    July 8, 2011 at 3:36 pm

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

  3. Chris W.
    July 8, 2011 at 4:12 pm

    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/juliane-popelka/10/514/769

  4. Jess
    July 8, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    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 at 6:18 pm

    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 at 7:10 pm

    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.

  7. Brian
    July 8, 2011 at 8:20 pm

    Benny is now back home accompanied by a response from Lisa herself:
    http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/07/08/lisa-dank-responds-re-hey-give-me-back-my-fucking-dog

  8. Suich
    July 8, 2011 at 9:16 pm

    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 Margaret
    July 8, 2011 at 9:18 pm

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

  10. yani
    July 8, 2011 at 10:02 pm

    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 at 10:08 pm

    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 at 11:06 pm

    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 at 11:42 pm

    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 at 9:38 am

    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 at 10:30 am

    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…

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