~~~~~CASE CLOSED~~~~~
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~~Peach Buzz: Back on their own street~~
After an adventurous weekend, Tyke Littrell, 2, and his 10-month-old sister, Litty, are back home safe and sound. Tyke and Litty are Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell's cream-colored Chihuahuas.
The diminutive doggies were taken from the singer's Fulton County home Wednesday. On Sunday Littrell's fiancee, Leighanne Wallace, received a telephone tip, and she and Littrell headed for Cherokee and Pickens counties. The dogs had been split up and were being kept at separate houses. Local sheriff's departments helped retrieve both by Sunday night.
"It was so a movie," Wallace told Buzz on Monday. "There we were, standing outside while the police were inside negotiating Litty's release. Finally, the officer came out in the rain with her under his coat."
Wallace surmises that a pair of overzealous Backstreet Boys fans snatched the dogs from the couple's back yard. The parties involved have not been charged in the case.
The Chihuahuas were dehydrated and in need of their heartworm medication, but otherwise unscathed.
Littrell and Wallace, an actress, obliged a law enforcement request for an autograph and a photograph. Said Wallace: "The officer told us, 'I have this camera in the car, but I usually only get to take pictures of dead people with it. My wife will never believe this.' "
With Tyke and Litty back romping at home --- a 46-acre spread the couple recently moved into, she relocating to her hometown after a stint in L.A. and he becoming an Atlantan for the first time --- Wallace and Littrell can get back to planning their September wedding.
~BSB's Littrell Reunited With Stolen Pets~
Atlanta's amateur dognappers were no match for Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell, who was reunited with his pilfered pets over the weekend.
As we reported last week, two Chihuahuas belonging to Littrell and his fiancée, actress Leighanne Wallace, had been stolen from the couple's home outside Atlanta last Wednesday, apparently by two trespassing teenage girls (see "Backstreet Boy Littrell Falls Victim To Dognapping").
A spokesperson for the search effort told MTV News that the missing dogs, named Lil' Tyk Thomas and Litty Leigh, were recovered late Sunday night from separate locations in the Atlanta area. Both dogs were said to be nervous and hungry, but otherwise fine.
Littrell, who had just wrapped recording sessions in Sweden, returned home in time to launch a massive search effort. According to the spokesperson, Littrell and Wallace drove to two different counties with law enforcement personnel to retrieve their missing pets after receiving a phone tip that apparently was made by one of the dognappers.
While Lil' Tyk was recovered without incident, the younger Litty Leigh proved to be more of a problem when the woman in possession of the puppy didn't want to give her up.
It's still not clear exactly why the dogs were taken, the spokesperson said, as the women in question offered up several different stories. The spokesperson added that Littrell and Wallace will not be pressing charges, as "they're just happy to have Tyk and Litty back."
Meanwhile, according to an interview with Howie Dorough in the Swedish paper "Aftonbladet," the band recorded seven songs in that country with producer Max Martin, including "three up-beat, two half-calm songs and two ballads." Dorough told the publication that the album is half-finished.
The band's publicist told MTV News that the next BSB album is expected out before the year's end.
~Backstreet Boy Littrell Hit By Dognapping~
Two tiny blond Chihuahuas belonging to Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell and his actress fiancée, Leighanne Wallace, have been snatched from the couple's home near Atlanta.
At press time, a spokesperson for the band confirmed that the couple's dogs, a 4 lb. male named Lil' Tyk Thomas and a 3 lb. female named Litty Leigh, were still missing.
According to Littrell, who called Atlanta radio station Star 94 on Friday morning to talk about the theft, the dogs were taken on Wednesday, apparently by two teenage girls who trespassed onto the couple's property. Littrell told the station that a "generous reward" was being offered for the dogs' safe return.
Anybody with any information with regard to the missing dogs is being asked to call Suzanne Lear or Kristi Clark at the Atlanta Police Department at 404-350-9212. (Please note that this is a toll call.)
Tyk is the canine star of the soon-to-be-released movie "Olive Juice," which features Wallace in the lead role and includes cameos from Littrell and fellow Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean. A plea for the dogs' return, along with a photo of Tyk and e-mail contacts for anyone with information about the dognapping, can be found at the movie's official Web site, www.olive-juice.com ).
The movie's producer, Nick Karvounis, told MTV News that Wallace had been playing with the dogs in the couple's yard when she was summoned away by the buzzer that signaled a visitor at the property's gate. No one was at the gate, but when Wallace returned to the yard, the dogs were gone. Later, a witness reportedly told Wallace that two teenage girls had put the canines in a car.
Littrell and Wallace moved into their Atlanta home just four months ago and are expected to marry in September. Tyk has been in the family for almost four years, while Litty was adopted last year.
As for "Olive Juice," no release date has been set as of yet. Karvounis said that the movie's soundtrack, produced by Littrell and Wallace, has now been completed, but he declined to release any further details.
~Tyke and Litty (Brian's Chihuahuas) are Missing~
Missing: Tyke: Chihuahua, male, blonde/cream, approximately 4lbs.
Litty: Chihuahua, female, blonde/cream, approximately 3lbs.
These two dogs have been missing from their Atlanta, GA area home since the afternoon of Wednesday, July 19th. If you have any information on their whereabouts PLEASE contact the webmaster or BSB@artistdirect.com. These dogs mean the world to their owners and we appreciate your help in finding them. If you would like to discuss this please use the Backstreet Boys Bulletin board (at the official site). Please don't email the webmaster or BSB@artistdirect.com UNLESS you have information.
