Early in the morning of Monday, July 4th, a cute toy fox terrier named Benny, spooked by all the fireworks going off in his Wallingford neighborhood, jumped over the fence in his yard. He wasn't wearing his collar at the time. His owner, Mel Weipert, has been plastering the city with flyers ever since. But now Weipert says he knows who has his dog—she just won't give him back.

"I called her twice, I e-mailed her twice," Weipert said when reached by phone. "I said 'thank you for finding my dog' and that I've got a cash reward for her."

It was Tuesday night, July 5th, that Weipert got the good news: Several people saw a dog that looked exactly like Benny with local pop performer Lisa Dank at a party. According to Weipert, who had friends at that party, Dank said that she found the dog earlier that day. (I tried to reach Dank for confirmation but she hasn't returned my calls.)

Also on Tuesday, earlier in the day, Jennifer Petersen of Sportn' Life Records saw Dank walking downtown with the Benny look-alike.

"She said she found him outside the Hurricane at 4 am and it was meant to be," says Petersen. "I don't believe she knew at the time that Benny's owner was looking for him. Honestly, you could tell by the look of him that he was owned by someone who cares. Regardless she named him 'Musket' and went about her way."

"On Thursday," Petersen continues, "I found out through a friend and co-worker at KEXP that the dog's owner was frantic and looking for him and that Lisa had basically refused to give the dog back. Sending texts saying she isn't returning the dog. Stating it was kismet. I decided to help Mel and blast her first personally to see if she responded, which she didn't, so I took to Facebook."

It appears to Weipert, and those who have contacted Dank, that Dank is unwilling to give the dog up, or even ensure it isn't the same pet Weipert has lovingly raised for the last two-and-a-half years. Weipert hasn't been able to verify in person that the dog is his because, he says, Dank hasn't responded to phone calls, emails, Facebook messages, or Twitter messages left for her over the last four days. In fact, Weipert says she's deleted any Benny-related messages Weipert and his friends have posted on her Facebook wall. (Again, I tried to contact Dank for her side of the story but she hasn't returned calls or emails from me for comment.)

After he didn't hear back from Dank, he also called the police.

"They called the number I had for her and she didn’t answer," he says. "They reported to me that they left a message saying you need to get the dog back to the rightful owner or face criminal charges."

That was at about 6:00 p.m. last night. Weipert says there's still no word from Dank.

Weipert is glad the dog is safe, but he wants Benny back. "I told her, I can see why you fell in love with him, but I’ve got to have my doggy back. I’m going crazy."

UPDATE: Lisa Dank has responded.

UPDATE #2: Benny the dog was returned Friday evening.

This post has been updated since its original publication.