A woman who lost one dog earlier this year in the flooding at District Dogs is asking for help after an armed robber stole her new puppy Saturday afternoon.
“It’s very traumatizing, you know. For this to happen, for someone to just take my dog, where I stay, it’s overwhelming,” Teffiney Worthy of Northeast D.C., said.
Worthy said her 6-month-old French bulldog, Hendrix, was forcibly taken Saturday at around 4 p.m. by a person she thought she saw at a nearby gas station.
“That’s when I first noticed the suspect. I [thought] nothing of it, other than he had on a mask. But, you know, it was cold that day,” Worthy told WTOP. “So, I thought nothing of it.”
Worthy said, as she neared the entrance to her home, a suspect approached her and threatened “to end my life with a weapon in hand.”
“A black car pulled up, and then another black car pulled up behind him. And, when he pulled up behind the black car … he ran up the stairs and told me if I don’t give him my dog he would kill me,” Worthy told WTOP.
According to D.C. police, the suspect had a taser when he took Hendrix. He entered a black Nissan with tinted windows and paper tags, fleeing the scene going east on Monroe Street NE.
Now, she’s asking the community for help finding her lost pup.
“I’m keeping my faith and hoping for the best,” she said. “That’s all I can do.”
Police released a photo of the suspect, describing him as a man who is “5’5 in height, slim build, wearing a black ski mask, black coat, light denim jeans, and colorful shoes.”
On social media, Worthy posted footage of the incident and an image of the suspect, both taken by security camera.
Video and picture of the robbery of my puppy, Hendrix in Brookland DC NE..Please help me find my baby.. Please repost, fund, and pray.. Every second counts. pic.twitter.com/JwNBdpsrI6
— Teffiney (@Teffiney86) November 26, 2023
Worthy said that she will use money from her GoFundMe campaign to “help with funding to find a private investigator and reward money so that my pup can get home safe and swiftly.” By Sunday evening, the page had received just over $2,000 of its $7,500 goal.
Worthy said Hendrix was a gift in the weeks that followed the death of her puppy Memphis in August. The young dog was killed during the flash flooding that overwhelmed District Dogs doggy day care center on Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast.
At the time, Worthy said, she was too new to know how dangerous the flooding could be in and around District Dogs.
“Being new to living in D.C., you really don’t know the trouble spots,” she said, adding that she was “learning as I go.”
Worthy said Hendrix helped her to get through the trauma that came with losing her dog in the flood.
“Getting Hendrix was the best thing that could happen to me during that time. He definitely helped me — he definitely helped me to heal,” Worthy said in an interview with WTOP.
I hate feeling exposed, weak, and vulnerable like this on social media. I have been very private especially after my tragic loss this summer. It’s very draining..Please help me find my baby. He was stolen yesterday from me in Brookland Washington DChttps://t.co/pYseqQfuVQ
— Teffiney (@Teffiney86) November 26, 2023
In the meantime, Worthy said, she’s trying to figure out if she wants to call the District her home.
“I just want to find some type of peace somewhere,” she said.
Worthy told WTOP she’s even wondered if she can continue to work in the area after these harrowing incidents.
“It’s overwhelming, you know, to the point where I just — to the point where I don’t want to teach in D.C. no more,” she said.
Police ask anyone who may know the suspect, or have any information about this case, to call them at 202-727-9099 or text an anonymous tip at 50411.
WTOP’s Joshua Barlow, Terik King and Dan Ronan contributed to this report.
