[ditpiler]

By Linda Goldston

lgoldston@mercurynews.com
Posted: 08/09/2009 12:00:00 AM PDT
Updated: 08/09/2009 01:34:21 PM PDT

The small white dog looks so happy on the billboard rising above San Jose's Alum Rock Avenue, one of his trademark smiles that so endeared him to Janis and Bob McCormick.

The wording on the billboard tells a different story: "$3,000 Reward. Zak is Missing. Call 408-741-5506."

Ever since the rare Lowchen dog was taken from the Saratoga couple's front yard early on the morning of April 15, the McCormicks have tried everything they can think of to get the dog back home.

They offered a $1,000 reward, circulated thousands of fliers, hired professional dog trackers — people who make a living locating missing or lost pets — and even consulted a psychic. Now their hopes are riding on a larger reward -- $3,000 -- Zak's photo on the billboard and the missing posters they paid to have on two Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority buses.

"It's gotten harder, not easier," Janis McCormick said. "That someone would take my adorable 11-year-old neutered puppy from me. I wanted to spend whatever years I had with him."

Zak and and his brother, Morgan, were lifelines for Janis McCormick during the last several years as she dealt with the death of her father, her mother's Alzheimer's and death, and her own battle with cancer. If she could just get Zak back, she feels strongly she could get her energy back.

Zak's disappearance has affected the whole family.

Morgan still sniffs Zak's pillow and no longer wants to go outside — he and Zak used to race each other to the door. Even Bob McCormick hasn't recovered.

"I've never seen my husband depressed in all the years I've known him," Janis McCormick said. "But sometimes I look at him now and he's so sad. It happened on his watch."

The couple has an electronic fence designed to prevent the dogs from leaving the property. If they go near the property line a warning tone sounds in their special collars. They had never left the property before.

On April 15, sometime between 7:15 a.m. and 7:45 a.m., Zak disappeared from the yard and Bob McCormick found Morgan cowering by the door.

The couple said they had noticed a white pickup truck near their home in a gated community a day or two before Zak was taken and believe it was the workers who took him. They saw rakes and gardening tools in the back of the truck.

The billboard will be up near the intersection of Alum Rock Avenue and North Jackson Avenue in San Jose until Friday.

The McCormicks also paid to have missing posters of Zak placed on the back of two VTA buses for a month, at a cost of about $300 for each bus.

They said they have only one requirement about paying the $3,000 reward. They want whoever finds Zak to have him scanned at a shelter or vet's office to verify his identification.

"I just want my dog," Janis McCormick said. "My heart is breaking right now."

If you think you might know where Zak is, the couple asks that you call them at 408-741-5506.

$3,000 reward for dog missing from Saratoga - San Jose Mercury News

[clorkergo]

That's so sad...there's a yorkie missing around here and they're offering 5K for her, I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing, though.