GREENEVILLE (WATE) -- Police are looking for a Greeneville woman who's bought at least half a dozen registered puppies over the last month with bogus checks.
There are at least three victims in this scam.
Yorkshire terriers and tea cup poodles are little dogs, but if registered with the AKC, they carry big price tags. Two hobby breeders sold puppies recently, only to discover the woman who bought them had a different motive in mind than helping her sick daughter.
Gayla Jackson is relieved to have her tea cup poodle puppies back. At her kennel outside Sparta, Tennessee, she's a hobby breeder.
Gayla considers her poodles like family and she's particular. Her registered tea cups are sold only to families.
But Gayla sadly admits, a customer snookered her on March 23. "She was too cool, too calculated, knew how to work the deals."
Larry Wood is also a hobby breeder. He and his wife, Liz, are missing a Yorkshire terrier puppy sold on March 23. The puppy was bought by the same woman who purchased several other dogs, all on March 23.
"Liz, do you recognize this face?" 6 On Your Side asks, showing her a mug shot. "Yes, she's the one who came and got the puppies." "Who is this?" 6 On Your Side asks. "Mrs. Baker," Liz says.
Gayla Jackson knows the mug shot, too. "That's Patricia Ann Baker but she goes by Ann Baker. She also has a driver's license that says Martha Baker."
Gayla says she sold Baker the poodles after listening to a sad story. "She had a daughter who had leukemia, was dying, and they were in hopes they could get it into remission. She had a believable story. Her husband was a lawyer and he was always out of town."
The Woods heard a similar story. "Well, she called and said would I take a check and meet her somewhere because her daughter had leukemia," Liz says.
The check the Woods received from Baker shows the name of her ex-husband and Fulton Credit Union, which has been closed for several years. The check is no good. The couple also discovered Ann Baker does not have a daughter suffering from cancer.
"I think it's sad. She made me feel sorry for her daughter," Liz says.
"She gave you some money?" 6 On Your Side asks Gayla Jackson. "Yes, paper money that wasn't any good," she says. "These two checks, one for $800, the other for $650." Both checks bounced.
Last week, Gayla got her puppies back with the help of Ann Baker's family, just days after Baker was seen with them at a flea market in Sevierville. "She takes them to the flea market to sell them and pretend they are hers."
Gayla has filed theft charges in White County against Baker. The Woods have also filed charges against Baker. "I have a warrant out for this woman's arrest. This is stolen property," Larry Wood says. "I want my dog back."
Knoxville police and White County deputies say they're looking for Ann Baker to serve warrants on her. But so far, investigators they haven't been able to find her.
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