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"People look to us as a way out" of the bureaucracy that can engulf animal-abuse reports, says Big Ant from the driver's seat. "They're used to 'Let's do the paperwork, fill out this form.' We don't do paperwork."

Not surprisingly, law enforcement takes a somewhat dim view. "We don't encourage people to take the law into their own hands. Doing so could lead to charges against yourself," Tim Motz, public information director for the Suffolk County Police Department, said in an e-mailed statement. "We advise people to let the proper authorities handle such situations."

Getting attention

In the past month, Rescue Ink has gained publicity for its work in three "dognapping" cases: a bulldog taken from outside a midtown Manhattan supermarket, two corgis snatched after competing at a dog show in Edison, N.J., and a toothless 10-year-old Maltese stolen from a car in New York.

All four dogs were recovered after Rescue Ink hit the pavement, spreading the word that they weren't going away until the animals were returned.

One thing they have going for them is the shock factor. "When we show up," shrugs Mike Tattoo, who's a strict vegetarian, "it's obvious we're not here to play checkers."

In just a few short weeks, Rescue Ink's grass-roots efforts have reached critical mass. Robert, who usually orchestrates the Rescue Ink missions from his Manhattan office, says the group receives 1,200 e-mails a day at www.rescueink.org, which crashed the other day because the server was overwhelmed. He logs about 100 phone calls daily.

For all their traffic-stopping looks, "they're total mushes with the animals," says Dori Scofield, founder of Save-A-Pet Animal Rescue in Port Jefferson, which adopts out some of the animals Rescue Ink saves.

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