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Do hope this is legit and Comet returns home safe and sound. Having had a beloved dog stolen a few years ago, I know so well what an absolutely anguishing ordeal it is to go through - to always feel so close, but just not "know" what the reality is.
I sincerely hope Comet is returned and all is well. I hope this guy is legitimate and is not just after the reward. I'm not so sure to offer a reward was the best thing to do. Most animal loving people who found a dog would try to find it's owners for the dog's sake. Once a reward is brought into the mix it adds a whole new dimension to it. I just hope Comet is found and returned to their owners.
Today (8/22) my wife got a call on her cell phone from a man who said "I think I have your dog a chihuahua, was he wearing a collar?" To which my wife responded no! He then ask my wife to describe the dog to him. After describing the dog to him he said, "Yes, this is him I have your dog." He then ask her if we were willing to sell Comet to him because he said his young son who has had a tough year has really gotten attached to the dog. My wife told him, "No, he's not for sale we have been distraught over the loss of our dog and we want him back but there is a $1,000.00 dollar reward for him", and he could take the money and buy whatever dog he wanted for his son. This man went on to say, the money is not the issue but his son is spoiled and has gotten so attached to the dog he didn't want to upset his son by taking the dog away and returning him to us and went on to ask for us to sell him to them of which my wife again emphatically told him Comet was not for sale. The man said he would call back in a few minutes.
The man calls back and then ask my wife if he could give her a $100.00 dollars for Comet and then offered $300.00 cash for us to let him keep Comet for his son. My wife tells him absolutely not and implores him to return Comet for the reward. The man begins to imply that he was not willing to give Comet back because of his sons attachment. My wife then informs him that the law was involved with Comets disappearance (of which they are because we filed a missing/stolen dog report with Sheriff Bissel in Smithfield) and a detective is involved in the case. The man had *67 both times he called where the call showed up as a private number. That doesn't matter because the cell company we are with keeps the #'s of every call and has a law enforcement division and we are contacting Smith County Sheriffs dept first thing Monday morning. They will call the cell # law enforcement division and get the number and where it came from. They will go to his house and arrest him for larceny which is what this man has already committed by keeping Comet knowing that he is the property of someone else.
I don't know if this individual reads this forum but if you do sir. I would advise you to call us before Monday morning and give Comet up. You will go to jail, you will be prosecuted. Return him before Monday morning and the law will not be contacted.
Like the rest I really hope this works out and sorry if this sounds harsh, but you both handled this about very poorly and foolishly (or at least naively) and I state the following only in the hope that someone who might find themself in any similar situations does differently. For example:
- when he called and started asking questions about the dog, you played right into his hands. YOU should have asked if the dog he was in possession of had a collar on or not, asked what kind of markings it had etc. When you just this or that about the dog, he can just easily agree that the dog he supposedly has is the same. On the plus side, I doubt this guy is a "scammer" because if so he would've taken the $1000 and certainly not countered for less. He sounds like quite a bizarro idiot (to think he could break the law by knowingly keeping your dog), but a sincere one.
- as soon as it was clear he was going to resist giving you the dog back, you should have simply lied and led him on just so you could "get to" the guy ie see where he lives and make sure it's your dog etc. Then say you need to go cash a check or whatever - THEN have one person stay with him (so no "sneaky getaways") and the other who is pretending to go get the money calls the cops. Of course you'd have to be smooth about it, ie don't pretend to just suddenly change your mind, or he could easily catch on and have just hung up at any time and you might have never heard from him again. Apparently you can find out his # and therefore address anyway, but I'm admittedly a little skeptical of this, and even if so, it doesn't guarantee your dog's return.
- finally as someone else said, you should have IMMEDIATELY contacted the police; what the flip are you waiting till Monday for? What sheriffs don't do weekends?? Couldn't the "regular" cops help?
Again I don't mean to give you a hard time, esp now of all times, but I think these are things worth pointing out. Hope it works out!!
I lost a dog years ago and put up reward signs in my neighborhood. A mentally disturbed teenager called me saying he had Rags and he wanted 5 times the reward or he would sell her to research hospital. This kid led us along for several calls when finally a friend and her daughter were at my house when he called again. I got the daughter on the other line to listen to him and she said "Oh that's John Doe.. He lives two doors down from you and is a real nut case. He even poops on the school bus".
We immediately got the cops to sit with me in my car at the designated drop off area and when the kid showed up (without Rags) he was arrested .
We went to court and I was scared to death of this kid and his famiiloy. Turns out the mother did volunteer work with ASPCA and had brochures in their home about animal cruelty with graphic pictures. The kid was committed for a short time. He eventually overdosed years later after putting his parent thru years of hell. I discovered Rags dead in the woods behind our house. Cause of death could not be determined.
Losing a pet is heartbreaking and I feel so bad for you and your family. My advice is to avoid at all costs putting your name and phone number out in public and letting it be known you are vulnerable as this only brings out the crazies. This guy you are dealing with is probably just jerking you around. I hope not.
Chazman 53- you have every right to be ticked at anybody who criticizes you and your efforts to find your dog. unless it happens to you, you don't know how you would react either.
Even after my experience with the crazy kid, if it happened to me again I doubt I would hesitate to put reward posters out too. Only wish there was someway to have somebody act as an intermediary (somebody else's phone number and name) to shield you from having to deal with crazies like this guy probably is.
Good luck to you and Comet.
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