Over the past three days, you may have seen her at a busy intersection in University City, however, on Friday, she said she was putting away her bikini, at least for now.
Arlene Corona's beloved Chihuahua named “Chispita” went missing more than a week ago and so she decided to put up flyers along La Jolla Village drive where the dog was last seen.
However, when no one responded to her pleas for help, Corona decided to attract more attention by holding a sign and wearing a bikini at the intersection of Genesse and La Jolla Village.
"My heart is just to not [going to] give up hope," said Corona. “I'm stressed out and I'm depressed but I just feel like somebody is going to return her, you know?"
On Friday morning, Corona received a ray of hope after getting an email from a man who identified himself as Merl.
"He was telling me it was really late, I can't speak on the phone right now [but] my daughter has your dog and I'm so sorry my daughter has just been so afraid to return it,” Corona said.
In the end, the man didn't want reward money for his help in returning the dog. According to Corona the man wanted sexual favors. She added that he sent her a picture of a Chihuahua, along with a picture of his genitals.
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"I was like oh my god this is so scary, I was like shaking, and I was like maybe he really does have my dog, or maybe he's just a creep,” Corona said.
Corona realized the picture wasn't her dog, so she said she decided to ignore the man.
Sometime later she received a text from a different number from someone claiming a neighbor was beating Chispita.
Corona was about to meet the “texter” in Mira Mesa until she called his number. This information didn’t lead anywhere either since the voicemail turned out to be from the same person claiming to be Merl.
For now, Corona says she’s afraid her bikini publicity stunt may have led to a potentially dangerous situation, "Its just turned into something that I didn't think it would."
