Overview
- McKina Artis says her 11-year-old Shih Tzu, Lady, was taken from a stroller inside the 125th Street–Lexington Avenue subway station on July 6 when she stepped away briefly to retrieve a fallen item.
- The NYPD arrested 33-year-old Ali Tarawally and charged him with petit larceny and related counts, but officers did not recover Lady when they took him into custody.
- Prosecutors asked the court to hold Tarawally on bail or bond but Judge Ilona Coleman ordered supervised release, and Tarawally is due back in court on August 11.
- Artis and her family have plastered the city with missing-dog flyers, offered a reward and posted a viral TikTok to seek the dog’s return because Lady is a senior animal who needs medication.
- Reporting of Tarawally’s multi-year arrest record has intensified public concern and highlighted how quickly pets can vanish in transit systems and how an arrest does not guarantee a swift recovery.