The Case of the Missing Dog and the Kitty Held Hostage
by PetSugar
Thu, 07/03/2008 - 7:00am
There must be something in the water down there in Florida to cause a woman to hold a cat as ransom! This story is a bit tricky, so stay with me here:
Linda Urioste's black lab Scobby went missing several weeks ago, but instead of searching for him right away, she assumed he was stolen and gone for good. In the meantime, Scobby had turned up at the animal shelter and was adopted by Jutta Hollar and her husband after being unclaimed for weeks.
Eventually Urioste did check the animal shelter, and the couple learned that the rightful owner was looking for the pup.
Upon meeting Urioste, the Hollars decided not to give back Scobby (now renamed Buddy), since Urioste was "extremely rude and threatened to sue."
Here's where things get interesting: Mizy, the Hollar's cat went missing a few days after meeting Urioste, and they received a message from her stating she had Mizy, and wouldn't give her back until they returned Scobby!
After confessing, police arrested Linda Urioste for holding lil Mizy ransom in exchange for the dog. Charges included theft and extortion! Yeesh! What's the lesson here? Always look for your missing dogs, and don't use other pets as ransom!
Source: http://www.petsugar.com/1754465
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunshine, a yorkie mix
"I don't know how she got to Miami" ? The mystery of how the brown and silver toy dog ended up several states away remains unsolved? It doesn't seem like much of a mystery to me.
Texas woman, missing dog reunite in Miami-Dade
BY Micaela Hood
Tue, Aug. 18, 2009
Jodi Head thought her best friend, Sunshine -- a Yorkie mix -- was gone for good from her Texas home.But thanks to a good Samaritan and a microchip, she and her pooch were reunited Monday at Miami International Airport -- after a separation of nearly two months and more than 1,000 miles.
"I don't know how she got to Miami,'' said Head, 77, a courier for a dermatology lab.
Like a scene out of Lassie, Sunshine wagged her tail and licked her owner's face during the reunion.
The mystery of how the brown and silver toy dog ended up several states away remains unsolved.
Sunshine -- who as a baby was rescued from a puppy mill by the Texas SPCA -- was found Aug. 10 by Micha Porat and his friend, Cassie Roth, near the corner of Biscayne Boulevard and Seventh Street.
"She was hardly moving and didn't want to eat anything,'' said Porat, 28, a Miami Beach club promoter. "I was getting worried.''
He took the dog to South Beach Animal Hospital, where vets found Sunshine's identifying microchip.
Outside the airport, Head thanked Porat and gave him $200 -- half of which he had spent on getting the proper papers for Sunshine to fly.
"He's my angel,'' Head said.
Head said neighbors in her Dallas complex recently hosted visitors from Florida, and suspects they may have had a hand in Sunshine's disappearance.
She and Sunshine headed home Monday, where a welcome party awaits.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/1190674.html
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Texas woman, missing dog reunite in Miami-Dade
BY Micaela Hood
Tue, Aug. 18, 2009
Jodi Head thought her best friend, Sunshine -- a Yorkie mix -- was gone for good from her Texas home.But thanks to a good Samaritan and a microchip, she and her pooch were reunited Monday at Miami International Airport -- after a separation of nearly two months and more than 1,000 miles.
"I don't know how she got to Miami,'' said Head, 77, a courier for a dermatology lab.
Like a scene out of Lassie, Sunshine wagged her tail and licked her owner's face during the reunion.
The mystery of how the brown and silver toy dog ended up several states away remains unsolved.
Sunshine -- who as a baby was rescued from a puppy mill by the Texas SPCA -- was found Aug. 10 by Micha Porat and his friend, Cassie Roth, near the corner of Biscayne Boulevard and Seventh Street.
"She was hardly moving and didn't want to eat anything,'' said Porat, 28, a Miami Beach club promoter. "I was getting worried.''
He took the dog to South Beach Animal Hospital, where vets found Sunshine's identifying microchip.
Outside the airport, Head thanked Porat and gave him $200 -- half of which he had spent on getting the proper papers for Sunshine to fly.
"He's my angel,'' Head said.
Head said neighbors in her Dallas complex recently hosted visitors from Florida, and suspects they may have had a hand in Sunshine's disappearance.
She and Sunshine headed home Monday, where a welcome party awaits.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/1190674.html
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Sunday, August 30, 2009
Jojo, Lhasa Apso/Peek-a-poo mix
Easton woman reunited with dog taken during Baltimore car theft
By Jill Rosen Baltimore Sun reporter
5:29 PM EDT, August 20, 2009
After a harrowing brush with thieves who took her dog and truck in West Baltimore, a woman was reunited with her fluff ball of a pup Thursday morning in what shelter workers are calling "an impossible reunion."
Amy Gaffney was driving circles around West Baltimore on Tuesday evening, lost and trying to find a Western Union. The 46-year-old from Easton rolled her window down around Fulton Street to ask directions of a couple of young men walking along the street.
"The next thing I know, his arm is in my car and he unlocks the door," Gaffney said. "I was so stunned, I didn't know what was going on." One of the boys grabbed Gaffney's dog from her lap, an 11-pound, 1-year-old Lhasa Apso/poodle mix named Jojo. With the car still on, she jumped out, screaming for them to give back the dog.
"I just ran and tried to chase them down. I couldn't keep up with them," she said. "I was just screaming and begging anybody to call 911." When she turned back around, her black Ford pickup was gone.
"They could have killed me. I didn't care. I wanted my little baby back."
Gaffney filed a police report and got a ride back to Easton. She couldn't stop thinking about Jojo and what might be happening to him. "You just don't know the sadness," she said.
Police said they have not found the vehicle, and because no weapons were involved, the incident is classified as car theft.
Meanwhile, about 2 a.m. the next night, Melissa Garland dropped off a friend at Payson and Fulton streets. She noticed a dog running right up the middle of the road. He stopped in front of her car.
"He kept looking at me with these sad eyes, like help me," Garland said. "He was soaking wet."
Fearing the dog would get hit by a car, she and her friend tried to pick him up, but he scooted under a car. They tried for about 10 minutes to get him out and gave up. Garland walked back to her car, thought about the wet, little dog and decided to go back.
It took a half-hour to coax the dog out from under the car. She drove home with him, stopping at a 7-Eleven to get him food and a cardboard box. Exhausted, the dog fell asleep in the box in Garland's garage.
The next morning Garland got up early to check on him. He was playful and she started thinking about keeping him. But in the light of day, she noticed he had tags and decided to drive him to the Maryland SPCA to see if they could clean him up and find his owner. If no one came forward, she wanted to keep him.
Ian Gilmore took Garland's report. "I could tell someone was going to be missing him, just by looking at him," he said.
Almost lost in all the black fur, Gilmore saw the dog had a name tag that said "Jojo" with an address but no phone number. When Garland left, he played with the dog in the office a bit. "He was just the sweetest thing in the world. We were all petting on him in the office. And I said, 'We're going to find your parents, Jojo.'"
Gilmore's colleague's head popped up. "Did you just say Jojo?" she asked, "I just took a report on the dog."
Gaffney had called the SPCA that morning to file a missing dog report. They were able to put two and two together, and by this morning, Gaffney was waiting for the Falls Road shelter to open so she could claim her pup.
"We had said, 'Oh my gosh, she's never going to see that dog again,'" Gilmore said. "We were so happy at what seemed like an impossible reunion."
Shelter workers brought Jojo out to Gaffney today, and placed him into her eager arms.
"His tail was wagging like crazy and he was kissing me," Gaffney says. "I was crying and so happy."
She had brought Jojo's favorite treat -- mint-flavored Tic Tacs -- and planned to bring him home for a warm bath and a lot of love.
Source:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-dogjack-0820,0,7182353.story
Printer friendly version here
Also see this blog update, with comments
By Jill Rosen Baltimore Sun reporter
5:29 PM EDT, August 20, 2009
After a harrowing brush with thieves who took her dog and truck in West Baltimore, a woman was reunited with her fluff ball of a pup Thursday morning in what shelter workers are calling "an impossible reunion."
Amy Gaffney was driving circles around West Baltimore on Tuesday evening, lost and trying to find a Western Union. The 46-year-old from Easton rolled her window down around Fulton Street to ask directions of a couple of young men walking along the street.
"The next thing I know, his arm is in my car and he unlocks the door," Gaffney said. "I was so stunned, I didn't know what was going on." One of the boys grabbed Gaffney's dog from her lap, an 11-pound, 1-year-old Lhasa Apso/poodle mix named Jojo. With the car still on, she jumped out, screaming for them to give back the dog.
"I just ran and tried to chase them down. I couldn't keep up with them," she said. "I was just screaming and begging anybody to call 911." When she turned back around, her black Ford pickup was gone.
"They could have killed me. I didn't care. I wanted my little baby back."
Gaffney filed a police report and got a ride back to Easton. She couldn't stop thinking about Jojo and what might be happening to him. "You just don't know the sadness," she said.
Police said they have not found the vehicle, and because no weapons were involved, the incident is classified as car theft.
Meanwhile, about 2 a.m. the next night, Melissa Garland dropped off a friend at Payson and Fulton streets. She noticed a dog running right up the middle of the road. He stopped in front of her car.
"He kept looking at me with these sad eyes, like help me," Garland said. "He was soaking wet."
Fearing the dog would get hit by a car, she and her friend tried to pick him up, but he scooted under a car. They tried for about 10 minutes to get him out and gave up. Garland walked back to her car, thought about the wet, little dog and decided to go back.
It took a half-hour to coax the dog out from under the car. She drove home with him, stopping at a 7-Eleven to get him food and a cardboard box. Exhausted, the dog fell asleep in the box in Garland's garage.
The next morning Garland got up early to check on him. He was playful and she started thinking about keeping him. But in the light of day, she noticed he had tags and decided to drive him to the Maryland SPCA to see if they could clean him up and find his owner. If no one came forward, she wanted to keep him.
Ian Gilmore took Garland's report. "I could tell someone was going to be missing him, just by looking at him," he said.
Almost lost in all the black fur, Gilmore saw the dog had a name tag that said "Jojo" with an address but no phone number. When Garland left, he played with the dog in the office a bit. "He was just the sweetest thing in the world. We were all petting on him in the office. And I said, 'We're going to find your parents, Jojo.'"
Gilmore's colleague's head popped up. "Did you just say Jojo?" she asked, "I just took a report on the dog."
Gaffney had called the SPCA that morning to file a missing dog report. They were able to put two and two together, and by this morning, Gaffney was waiting for the Falls Road shelter to open so she could claim her pup.
"We had said, 'Oh my gosh, she's never going to see that dog again,'" Gilmore said. "We were so happy at what seemed like an impossible reunion."
Shelter workers brought Jojo out to Gaffney today, and placed him into her eager arms.
"His tail was wagging like crazy and he was kissing me," Gaffney says. "I was crying and so happy."
She had brought Jojo's favorite treat -- mint-flavored Tic Tacs -- and planned to bring him home for a warm bath and a lot of love.
Source:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-dogjack-0820,0,7182353.story
Printer friendly version here
Also see this blog update, with comments
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Omie, a shepherd/heeler mix
Couple reunited with missing dog found at infested house
Chris Casey
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Theresa Honesto started dabbing at the corners of her eyes the moment she walked into the Humane Society of Weld County. She was about to be reunited with a family member. A little furry one. He'd gone missing 41⁄2 months ago. Theresa couldn't imagine that this day, her 27th birthday, could feel any better.
“It's the best birthday present ever,” she said, getting covered in hair from the squirming bundle of glee in her lap.
Theresa Honesto hugs Omie, the family pet, after being reunited with him Tuesday afternoon at the Humane Society of Weld County. Omie, who had been missing for 41⁄2 months, was one of 102 animals seized from a Greeley house on Friday.
The deluxe present was the Lazarus-like return of Omie, a 3-year-old American shepherd-blue heeler mix. Just days ago, Omie was rescued from an animal hellhole.
On Tuesday afternoon, the mostly brown dog bounded and slurped all over his owners, Theresa and Carlos Honesto, in the lobby of the humane society in Evans. It was as joyful a reunion as you'll ever see.
Elaine Hicks, executive director of the shelter, said Omie was the most traumatized of the 10 dogs found at the Greeley home at 403 26th Ave. Court. That was the feces-filled house in which animal control officers on Friday seized 102 animals, including cats, rabbits, rats and guinea pigs.
At the bungalow, the yard is overgrown with weeds and the windows are shuttered. The place smells from the sidewalk. It doesn't take much to imagine the grim interior. Those who've been inside describe a horrific scene: cats, many feral, lined up against the wall, the living room a giant litter box, the kitchen converted into a dog run of sorts. It's where Omie spent much of the last four months, becoming progressively more fearful.
Hicks smiled. “A much different effect,” she said, watching Omie instantly shed his fearfulness.
Theresa and Carlos Honesto, who live just nine blocks west of the animal “hoarders,” checked the humane society after a friend of Theresa's on Monday told her about Friday's seizure. Sure enough, Omie, who wasn't wearing a tag, was there.
“I saw him yesterday and my heart just broke,” Theresa said. “He was at the back of the kennel.”
The couple have a 7-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter who can't wait to see Omie again. Their son named him after a TV cartoon character he likes. Omie ran off a few months ago when the garage door was accidentally left open. Carlos immediately searched for him, but to no avail. A couple of days later, Theresa checked the humane society, but nobody had turned him in.
For weeks, they posted missing-dog signs around the neighborhood. Finally, they gave up.
“I figured he got picked up by someone else who was taking care of him,” Carlos said. “Apparently, that was not the case.”
The hoarders — who remain under investigation — apparently gave Omie sufficient food. But Hicks knows traumatized animals when she sees them.
“He'll be all right,” Carlos said, as he petted Omie, who came to them as a puppy from friends. “We'll take him home and give him a big steak. … We're going to give him a bath. You can smell it.”
During the past few months, the Honestos frequently found themselves talking and thinking about Omie, wondering what had happened to their spirited and friendly pet. They kept a picture of him.
“We thought about getting another one for the longest time, but it didn't feel right,” Carlos said. “It's one thing to have an animal die of natural causes, but to lose something, to lose him ... .” his voice trailed off as he shook his head.
Besides the live animals, 28 dead cats were found in the house.
Theresa said she was “disgusted, so disgusted” to learn of the animal-infested house. “I just couldn't imagine who would do that.”
Carlos said he will take pains not to look at the property, which sits directly on the way to a relative's house.
“I've got a couple words I'd like to tell 'em,” he said.
Hicks said most of the animals taken from the house — all went to the humane society, except the rats and guinea pigs, which went to a Greeley animal hospital — were in decent health. About 20 of the 57 cats were feral, however. All of the animals are being temperament tested and will be put up for adoption. The only hope for the feral cats is if somebody is looking for farm or ranch cats.
Only one kitten was found in the house. Hicks suspects kittens were eaten by the other animals “because you don't have that many cats and not have kittens.”
Carlos didn't share the choice words he has for the hoarders. But he did have a thought on what should happen to Omie's “caretakers.”
“Fifteen minutes with a dog — a rabid dog,” he said.
Source:
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20090805/NEWS/908049972/1026/NONE&parentprofile=1025
Chris Casey
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Theresa Honesto started dabbing at the corners of her eyes the moment she walked into the Humane Society of Weld County. She was about to be reunited with a family member. A little furry one. He'd gone missing 41⁄2 months ago. Theresa couldn't imagine that this day, her 27th birthday, could feel any better.
“It's the best birthday present ever,” she said, getting covered in hair from the squirming bundle of glee in her lap.
Theresa Honesto hugs Omie, the family pet, after being reunited with him Tuesday afternoon at the Humane Society of Weld County. Omie, who had been missing for 41⁄2 months, was one of 102 animals seized from a Greeley house on Friday.
The deluxe present was the Lazarus-like return of Omie, a 3-year-old American shepherd-blue heeler mix. Just days ago, Omie was rescued from an animal hellhole.
On Tuesday afternoon, the mostly brown dog bounded and slurped all over his owners, Theresa and Carlos Honesto, in the lobby of the humane society in Evans. It was as joyful a reunion as you'll ever see.
Elaine Hicks, executive director of the shelter, said Omie was the most traumatized of the 10 dogs found at the Greeley home at 403 26th Ave. Court. That was the feces-filled house in which animal control officers on Friday seized 102 animals, including cats, rabbits, rats and guinea pigs.
At the bungalow, the yard is overgrown with weeds and the windows are shuttered. The place smells from the sidewalk. It doesn't take much to imagine the grim interior. Those who've been inside describe a horrific scene: cats, many feral, lined up against the wall, the living room a giant litter box, the kitchen converted into a dog run of sorts. It's where Omie spent much of the last four months, becoming progressively more fearful.
Hicks smiled. “A much different effect,” she said, watching Omie instantly shed his fearfulness.
Theresa and Carlos Honesto, who live just nine blocks west of the animal “hoarders,” checked the humane society after a friend of Theresa's on Monday told her about Friday's seizure. Sure enough, Omie, who wasn't wearing a tag, was there.
“I saw him yesterday and my heart just broke,” Theresa said. “He was at the back of the kennel.”
The couple have a 7-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter who can't wait to see Omie again. Their son named him after a TV cartoon character he likes. Omie ran off a few months ago when the garage door was accidentally left open. Carlos immediately searched for him, but to no avail. A couple of days later, Theresa checked the humane society, but nobody had turned him in.
For weeks, they posted missing-dog signs around the neighborhood. Finally, they gave up.
“I figured he got picked up by someone else who was taking care of him,” Carlos said. “Apparently, that was not the case.”
The hoarders — who remain under investigation — apparently gave Omie sufficient food. But Hicks knows traumatized animals when she sees them.
“He'll be all right,” Carlos said, as he petted Omie, who came to them as a puppy from friends. “We'll take him home and give him a big steak. … We're going to give him a bath. You can smell it.”
During the past few months, the Honestos frequently found themselves talking and thinking about Omie, wondering what had happened to their spirited and friendly pet. They kept a picture of him.
“We thought about getting another one for the longest time, but it didn't feel right,” Carlos said. “It's one thing to have an animal die of natural causes, but to lose something, to lose him ... .” his voice trailed off as he shook his head.
Besides the live animals, 28 dead cats were found in the house.
Theresa said she was “disgusted, so disgusted” to learn of the animal-infested house. “I just couldn't imagine who would do that.”
Carlos said he will take pains not to look at the property, which sits directly on the way to a relative's house.
“I've got a couple words I'd like to tell 'em,” he said.
Hicks said most of the animals taken from the house — all went to the humane society, except the rats and guinea pigs, which went to a Greeley animal hospital — were in decent health. About 20 of the 57 cats were feral, however. All of the animals are being temperament tested and will be put up for adoption. The only hope for the feral cats is if somebody is looking for farm or ranch cats.
Only one kitten was found in the house. Hicks suspects kittens were eaten by the other animals “because you don't have that many cats and not have kittens.”
Carlos didn't share the choice words he has for the hoarders. But he did have a thought on what should happen to Omie's “caretakers.”
“Fifteen minutes with a dog — a rabid dog,” he said.
Source:
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20090805/NEWS/908049972/1026/NONE&parentprofile=1025
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