Vanessa Williams’ Dilemma

A Yorkie belonging to Ugly Betty star Vanessa Williams disappeared Monday from her yard in Chappaqua, New York, prompting the entertainer to not only call for the return of little Enzo, but to raise concerns over the possibility of a Westchester County dognapping ring.

The pooch-loving former Miss America discovered her dog’s disappearance on Memorial Day after returning from running errands to find that the one-year-old black and tan Yorkshire terrier had gone missing from her fenced-in yard.

Williams quickly filed a missing-dog report—yes, such things do exist—with the Mount Pleasant police and began floating her dognapping theory, which is possibly supported by the disappearance last month of another local well-bred pup.

Buffeting her theory, the 44-year-old also told police that she spotted a suspicious-looking man driving around her property earlier in the day.

The other missing dog, a blond dachshund named Gus that belonged to former New York Post publisher Ken Chandler, disappeared from the area on Mother’s Day and has yet to be recovered, despite posters offering a $2,500 reward and the hiring of a pet detective.

However, while a pet-pilferer could be on the loose in the neighborhood, Mount Pleasant Police Chief Louis Alagno had another, slightly less screenplay-ready theory as to what may have precipitated the dogs’ disappearances.

“That would be pure speculation,” he told the local Journal News of Williams’ crime ring theory, “but in our suburban community, unfortunately, the presence of coyotes is very common and on occasion we’ve had confirmed predation by coyotes of small pets.”

A happy ending could still be in store for Williams, though.

Back in 2004, in much simpler times, Paris Hilton’s erstwhile Chihuahua companion Tinkerbell went missing for nearly a week before being reunited with her patron. The reunion came after Hilton blanketed her neighborhood with offers of a $5,000 reward for the pup, though no explanation was ever given for the dog’s disappearance.