[News] Dog held for ?500 'ransom'

[blackwidow]

Dog owners have been warned about kidnappers after an Oxford couple had to pay a ?500 ransom to get back their puppy.

Five-month-old border collie Hettie went missing from a garden as it was playing in Coppock Close in Headington, shortly after 11am on New Year's Day.

Owners Fiona Ross, 40, and her partner Gautam Bhasin, 57, searched the area but could find no sign of their beloved family puppy, and feared she had been stolen.

Shortly after handing out posters and appeal leaflets on Tuesday, the pet and her owners were reunited.

Mr Bhasin had been called to meet a woman outside a shop in Wood Farm and asked to withdraw ?500 cash.

He said: "It is a curious coincidence that within an hour and 15 minutes of the first poster going up, not only had we been called by two different people who had sighted the dog but parted with ?500. Call it ransom, or call it whatever you like, we handed over money to get the dog."
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When they met the woman, she was waiting with two men outside Wood Farm post office.

Ms Ross said: "We would never have seen her again if we had not parted with money."

The couple received their first phone call when the initial leaflets were put up, informing them that their dog had been spotted outside Sainsbury's Local in London Road, Headington.

When Mr Bhasin arrived at the store, he received a second phone call on his mobile phone asking him to meet a woman in Wood Farm with the reward.

He said: "I felt like someone was keeping an eye on me. She said 'I've got your dog and been looking for you for a long time' and said she understood there was a substantial reward - and then asked if I was paying with cash or cheque."

All the phone calls were made from a telephone box and they arranged to meet by a cash machine, he added.

Hettie arrived home and, although a little lethargic at first, is now back to full health. Police received 27 reports of dog thefts in Oxfordshire during 2006, but there is no specific category for dog theft in their records.

An appeal for Hettie's whereabouts was also placed on nationwide website Doglost, which lists seven other dogs from the county believed to be stolen.

These include a Yorkshire Terrier called Peppy who was stolen in Didcot by a man who was inside the house, and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier Oscar stolen from Bicester.

Jayne Hayes, of Doglost, said: "Most of these dogs are stolen for drug money. They know it's better to steal a dog and sell it on rather than a mobile phone because the police don't have records on it and can't do anything."

The couple initially told police that Hettie was missing, but have now reported it as a theft.

http://www.oxfordmail.net/display.va...500_ransom.php

[rachelsyorkie]

People will do anything for even less then $500 you have to be very careful. People always think I'm being paranoid but it pays to watch who's watching you, your kids & your dog.

[yorkielover06]

So true i dont know whats wrong with people.....