A dogged search for Cupid
My dog, a soulful-eyed beagle mix named Machado, is my baby, my source of comfort, my daily dose of laughter. I never really knew what unconditional love was until he came into my life — the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten.
So, when I stumbled across a billboard seeking the whereabouts of a lost poodle, I knew there was not just a story behind the sign. There was also a heartbroken owner looking for her baby.
Here is the story I did for the Houston Chronicle about Cupid, the missing toy poodle. I hope the piece helps bring her home.
Have you seen this poodle? Owner seeks return of Cupid, who escaped from animal hospital
By MONICA RHOR CHRONICLE CORRESPONDENT
Ever since the bright yellow billboard went up, the Cupid hotline has not stopped ringing. Maybe it’s her soulful eyes, her lustrous black locks or the way she gazes into the camera.
Whatever special charm Cupid has — and she seems to have charm to spare – it’s stirring a response from drivers riding past her larger-than-life likeness on a billboard on FM 1960 in Humble.
That’s just what Robin Dalessio wants.
Cupid is Dalessio’s 4-pound toy poodle, who disappeared April 17 from the Atascocita Animal Hospital, where Dalessio had boarded the pup while out of town on a church retreat.
A veterinary assistant left a gate partially open, and Cupid dashed out – with no leash and no ID tags.
Since then, Dalessio has plastered more than 500 flyers on car windshields, light poles and storefronts. She posted ads on Craigslist and in online forums. She put a 4-by-8-foot banner in front of the vet’s office.
Several weeks ago, Dalessio spotted a vacant billboard three miles from the vet’s office. “I told my husband we need a billboard,” said Dalessio.
“If you live in this area, you’re going to go down 1960. Whoever has her is going to pass by my billboard.”
The 10-by-26-foot double-sided billboard reads: LOST! Toy Poodle. Very large reward for information leading to her safe return. An image of Cupid, poised as if to receive a treat, beckons from the middle of the sign.