Scoop, a Cocker Spaniel

This is a very unusual case in that this was not just a case of pet theft, but pet robbery. One of the incredible elements of this story is that after this loser tried to gift the dog that he robbed from its owner to his mother, and he was unable to do so, rather than taking the dog back, he tried to give it to someone else. And when that didn't work, he still didn't take the dog back. I just never can get over this no matter how hard I try.

'Pupnap' Punks Did It For Mom
By Cynthia R Fagan, Additional reporting by Leonard Greene
New York Post
February 15, 2007

A tail of intrigue led cops to collar a BB-gun-toting teen dognapper - who then confessed he helped his pal steal a New Jersey couple's beloved cocker spaniel for his cohort's pet-crazed mom, police said.

"His friend wanted to give the dog to his mom because her dog had passed away," Clifton police Lt. Richard Birdneck explained yesterday, a day after the pilfered pooch, Scoop, was reunited with his grateful owners. He said cops were able to nab the suspect and identify the other - who is still at large - by retracing Scoop's oddball odyssey.

Birdneck said the dognapping duo's first attempt to steal a dog failed when they pointed the BB gun - which looked just like a real, deadly weapon - at a 14-year-old boy in Paterson on Friday night. The boy convinced the thugs to take his iPod instead.

The following night, the masked teens struck again. This time, they allegedly held up Joe Castronovo, a newspaper editor, and forced him to hand over Scoop near the Clifton house he shares with wife, Vicky.

Scoop was then renamed Tito, and presented to the mother of the suspect. But "the father didn't want the dog, so they gave the dog to an aunt," said Birdneck. The aunt didn't want the dog, either. She handed off the pooch to a friend - who gave it to an unsuspecting couple, Sener and Lale Batca. They had been looking for a dog for their two young kids. The couple had the dog only for a few hours when a friend called her at work and said there was a lost-and-found poster showing a photo of Scoop - who bore an uncanny resemblance to Tito. There was a reward of $2,000.

"I felt terrible and scared," Lale said. She quickly got the pet to a police station.

As soon as Scoop spotted the Castronovos, "the dog started to go crazy," she said.

"I saw the way those two people hugged and played with that dog. There were tears of joy in their eyes. I don't think dogs are any different than kids," she said.

Yesterday, a relieved Castronovo said, "I just keep pinching myself trying to wake up from what seems to be a bizarre dream." He called the robbery "a life-changing experience" and marveled that he got the dog back "after losing all hope of ever seeing him again."
Sources: The New York Post and 1010 Wins
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