Upper East Side Continues Searching For Missing 'Rosie' Dog
UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Roise is still missing nearly two weeks after she escaped from a dog walker while her owner, Upper East Side resident Shira Meged, was out of town for a Thanksgiving vacation.
Since then, Upper East Side neighbors have self-organized search parties throughout the neighborhood and Central Park, producing reports of Rosie sightings from the Alice in Wonderland statue near the Boat Pond to West Drive near 110th Street.
On social media, people have posted meet-up times and asked for partners in combing the park for signs of the three-year-old mini goldendoodle.
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“People think that New Yorkers just keep to themselves, but the truth is that we always look out for each other,” a neighbor said. “Most of us have never even met Rosie or Shira before, but we are here to help get them back together.”
During a walk in Central Park on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Rosie somehow got off leash and ran off.
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Meged, who was on a vacation cruise, had wait almost a full day until the ship was back at port, and took the first flight back to New York City.
She’s been “inconsolable” since, and has spent nearly every available hour desperately putting up green-colored fliers and searching for her beloved companion all over the neighborhood and Central Park.
Meged’s neighbors, seeing the toll that tirelessly searching for Rosie nearly 12 hours a day has taken on her, started a GoFundMe to help her offset the expenses of hiring a professional dog tracker, printing fliers and to help defray the cost of taking time off from her job as a family therapist specialising in trauma and child exploitation.
“I’ve seen her at her most gentle helping families in horrible situations and at her most fierce advocating for those same families in court,” said a friend of Meged’s. “She deserves to have her own family reunited.”
The GoFundMe raised nearly $8,000 in 24 hours. Meged told Patch she is also now offering a “substantial” reward for her return.
More formally organized efforts are kicking off as well, with Meged asking for concerned neighbors who want to help to sign up for volunteer shifts putting up fliers, canvassing people in the park or participating in organized searches.
Rosie stands at about 16 inches tall, weighs about 24 pounds, is microchipped and was wearing a pink harness and a collar with Meged’s contact info on it when she got loose.
“She’s been spotted we think multiple places in the park,” Meged told Patch on Friday, “east, west and north, but we’re expanding search through whole park and surrounding areas just in case.”
If anyone sees her, Meged asks to please call the number listed on the flier, as Rosie can be afraid of strangers and will run away if chased.
“I just want my baby back with me where she belongs,” Meged said. “Family is made up of more than just the people in our lives. I think many people in the community understand that.”
To see the GoFundMe, click here.
To learn more about helping look for Rosie, click here.
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