Parkland man anguished over fate of missing puppy

Douglas Gracia misses Whitney.

“She’s part of our family, you know?” he said. “It’s like losing one of your kids. That’s how you feel.”

He found his kitchen window screen cut and two English bulldog puppies — sisters Whitney and Alexis — missing June 25 from his Parkland home on 132nd Street South, near state Route 7.

Alexis has since been returned, but her sister remains missing, according to Gracia and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

Gracia posted information online in hopes that someone would recognize the dogs and help them find their way home.

And it worked, for 6-month-old Alexis.

A Bellevue veterinary office called to say a woman had brought a dog in for a checkup. She said she’d found the animal wandering in the Southcenter Mall parking lot.

That tip led to Alexis’ safe return.

Now Gracia is hoping Whitney, from the same litter, will have that kind of luck.

The dogs are worth about $3,200 each, he said.

“They like to chew on everything,” he said. “When you give them rawhide bones and stuff like that, it’s like handing a little kid a plate of ice cream and chocolate cake.”

In the meantime, Gracia has Alexis, her mother, 3-year-old Ruby, and 14-month-old Cooper.

“They play together, and they live together,” he said. “They’re like one big family.”

But they seem to know something’s wrong.

“I think they sense something’s missing,” Gracia said.

This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 8:13 PM with the headline "Parkland man anguished over fate of missing puppy."