Pooch statue comes home to Garden City

His cigar is missing, his nose is scratched up and his coat is chipped, but Winston, the 6-foot wooden dog statue that was reported stolen from in front of the Woofer Wash pet grooming shop in Garden City, has returned home.

Shop owner Mindy Fras said she received a phone call from the Nassau County Police Fifth Precinct on Sunday night telling her that, thanks to a tip, they had located the statue and would return it to her Monday.

Fras said police told her that the woman who loaded Winston into her car at around 8 p.m. on June 30 thought he had been abandoned on the curb as garbage. She took the statue and left it in the back of her car.

The woman became alarmed when local media reported the statue's disappearance and signs went up notifying the public about the missing 270-pound dog statue.

"When they saw all the publicity, they got a little scared and offered to return it," said Det. Vincent Garcia, public information officer for Nassau County Police.

Fras said she agreed to the woman's request to police that charges not be sought if she returned the statue.

Winston was missing from in front of the store for more than two weeks.

Fras said her business was hurt because regular customers thought she was closed, adding that she's thrilled to have it back.

Police delivered the statue to the Nassau Boulevard shop.

"He's all banged up," Fras said, noting that the statue will need some refinishing. "But he's back and that's all we care about."