# Some people are pretty scary - stupid - underhanded - take your pick!



## Neltharion (Dec 5, 2011)

I'd like to replace the word crappy in the subject line with something else, but can't without getting an infraction. 

About a week ago, I walked out of a Moroccan restaurant with my nephews. They really like the place because you get to sit on the floor and eat with your hands. I like the the place for the belly dancers err. . . . .I mean good food.

Well, we walked out of the restaurant and a puppy (mini schnauzer I think) ran up to one of my nephews. He picked the puppy up and asked me if he could have it. Of course I said 'no'. We did take the little guy with us though. I had him checked for a microchip, there was none. He was wearing a small green collar though and seemed well fed and groomed. 

I put out a few ads in local papers and posted a listing on Craigslist for a the found puppy. In hindsight I should not have posted his pic, and should have forced people to describe him to me. A day later, I received an e-mail from a woman stating that the puppy was her family's. I called her and she came by to pick him up. The puppy ran right over to her (in hindsight, the puppy ran up to everyone). She took him, thanked me, and offered me a reward which I refused. 

I logged in to remove the ad and noticed another email from a different woman stating that the dog was hers. I had a real panicked, sick, disgusted feeling all at the same time. I replied back informing her that the puppy had been claimed by his owner already. She replied back with several pics attached of her, her boyfriend, and the puppy. Definitely same puppy, same green collar. 

At this point, I called her up and explained what exactly whathad happened. She wanted the other woman's phone number and e-mail right away. In my head, I was thinking that conversation would be ugly, and she may not be able to get her dog back from the woman. I told her that I would call first and see what I could do to reclaim the dog for her. I called the woman up and explained that the real owner contacted me and sent me proof that the dog was really hers. Her reply back, and get this, "Its her fault she lost the puppy. You gave the puppy to me freely, that responsibility is on you. I have the puppy, my kids are already attached to him, possession in nine tenths of the law, just tell her to get a new one." At this point, I really had to stop and think, "did she really just say all of that". I reminded her that she misled me and got the puppy under false pretenses and just said, "Please just give him back and all of this goes away for all of us, would you want your kids to know how you really got him?" At this point, she hung up. 

I had to call the real owner of the dog back and let her know that I failed to get the puppy back. I gave her the woman's name, e-mail address, and phone number. I also looked on my survelliance footage and managed to get her license plate number when she was parked on my driveway. While the real owner was doing her best to remain calm and civil, she did ask me the question of why didn't I demand proof of some kind, reminding me that there are a lot of awful people out there. She was practically scolding me like I was 10. At this point, I felt so bad that all I could do was apologize. She said she was filing a police report for theft and was was going to look in to whether or not she could sue to get the dog back if the police couldn't help. I told her that I would help and give a statement to police. The police contaced me a few days later after she filed her report, and I explained what happened.

Now here we are one week later, I get a strange e-mail from an unrecognized e-mail address. The sender is "MYOB". In the e-mail is a message, "Sometimes bad things happen to people that get envolved [sic] in stuff that has nothing to do with them." This thief has my e-mail address, phone number, and home address. I don't know if I should be worried or take that as an idle threat. I'm also debating whether or not to call the officer that took my statement and inform him of the e-mail that I received. 

Makes me wish that we had left the dog in the parking lot. Sorry for the novel.


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## hannahlouise12 (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

Wow! I think you should inform the police of this email you were sent because it sounds threatening to me. I can't believe that person was just fine with taking someone elses puppy and then refusing to give it back with no remorse for the real owners feelings.


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## Jacqui (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*



hannahlouise12 said:


> Wow! I think you should inform the police of this email you were sent because it sounds threatening to me. I can't believe that person was just fine with taking someone elses puppy and then refusing to give it back with no remorse for the real owners feelings.



Ditto! It also tells me, that the puppy is so much better off now, then in the same home as a person like that lady. Also quit blaming yourself, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but far from reality and on the spot happenings.


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## dmarcus (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

I would also notify the police. Better to play this one safe.


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## african cake queen (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

some people are jerks. please let the cops know if you feel scare. its up to you . may not be a bad thing to have on record. good luck and thanks for doing what you thought was right!


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## dmmj (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

I would let the cops know about the email just in case, a paper trail is always wise.


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## ascott (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

I absolutely would also print and forward a copy of the email to the police officer that you spoke with. There are ways that an email can be traced if need be...

No good deed goes unpunished.....I am sorry that you are involved in this. Also, you did over and above by picking up the dog and checking it for owner info....and Hindsight is a devilish thing....

I bet they will hash it out to some resolve. Maybe you should give the "actual" owner lady a call back and see if she took custody of her dog again? 

On the flip side, you went through all of the effort to have id check done, post on craigslist....I am left to wonder why the owner did not also post a craigslist add showing she lost her dog right away?? 

You did a good thing ....and don't let someone elses bad deed take away from your good....


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## pdrobber (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

Yes, I'm curious as to whether the puppy went back to the real owner. Yes you should just notify police that you received this message, seems like a threat to me. Why else would they send it? In the case that anything would happen to you because of these puppy stealers, and then you say "well I did get this email..." there will be a possibility it could have been prevented.


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## jaizei (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

I would definitely let the police know about the email. 

Also, do you have a clear picture of her on surveillance? Shaming can have a powerful effect. Posting something like this on Craigslist or Facebook with her picture might make her think twice.


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## CtTortoiseMom (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

I am so sorry this is happening to you. Thank you so much for sharing. I do not think I would question whether someone was telling the truth, because I would just assume they were!! I would definitely tell the police about the threatening email. Maybe, they can stop over to that horrible person's house and explain that dog stealing and threatening is against the law. Ugh, this truly makes me sick!


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## pdrobber (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

perhaps they should listen to the same message they sent you. MYOB". Sometimes bad things happen to people that get involved in stuff that has nothing to do with them. Exactly, they shouldn't have gotten involved in getting between you and finding the rightful owner of the dog.


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## zesty_17 (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

i agree with notifying the police... and as a continuation of the public shaming tactic... you could also contact your local media source-news paper, or tv news station. they love 'helping' with this sort of thing, and publicizing from a neutral 3rd party could help get the dog back to its original owner.


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## Katherine (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

I am so sorry this situation was your reward for trying to do the right thing! I appreciate you sharing your story so that we may refrain from making the same missteps; I can easily imagine this happening to any kind hearted person. I would definitely report the email to the responding officer, it is in your best interest to document this situation as well as possible incase of the rare event the "crappy" woman initiates unfavorable interaction w you in the future. For what it is worth I find it unlikely a cowardly craigslist thief will persist in harassing you. I hope you're not beating yourself up here; you acted as many people would have, and with the best of intentions : ) goodluck, hope it blows over quickly


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## JacksonR (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

Sick woman. Go to her house and TAKE the dog back.


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## Stephanie (Dec 5, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

I agree with the unanimous opinion of forwarding the email to the police. The poor grammar makes it even more terrifying. You're not just dealing with a criminal, you're dealing with an extremely stupid criminal. 
Honestly, I can't believe you were treated like a child by the rightful (true) owner of the dog. You did your best, at the time, in finding the right owner. She should be grateful that there was even a Craigslist post to begin with. Yeah, putting you on blast "for not properly checking" is REALLY going to help...especially since she lost her own dog. 
For goodness sakes, you even got a license plate number for her! I'd be tripping all over myself to thank you for a lead like that! 
Crappy people (minus you and the police, I'd say) abound in this situation. 
It's stuff like this that makes me perfectly content with my "hermit" status.


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## exoticsdr (Dec 6, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

I once had someone bring in a ferret that they found in their yard and placed an online FOUND ad. I immediately got a reply from a woman that said she had lost the ferret, so I said, "Please come and get him, he needs to go home. Oh, please bring a picture of you or a family member with the ferret or be prepared to describe him in detail." This brought the phone call to a screeching halt! After some mumbling and fumbling for words, she admitted that it wasn't hers and that she had always wanted a ferret and would make a wonderful home. Conversation ended there with a thank you for her time. Another call an hour later, a visit from the real owner with her daughter and a perfect pic of the daughter and ferret together and he went back home. My request for proof from the first phone caller was a complete afterthought because of a gut feeling...you did the right thing, don't let it eat you up.

Doc


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## dmmj (Dec 6, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*



JacksonR said:


> Sick woman. Go to her house and TAKE the dog back.


Seriously? that is the worst thing you can do, you will only escalate the situation.


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## Tony the tank (Dec 6, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*

Report the Email to the PD they can trace it back..."intimidation of a witness" is in it self is a crime..

I know some will disagree with me.. But society is in a downward spiral.. Values are out the window... And most people just plain SUCK


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## Yvonne G (Dec 6, 2011)

*RE: Some people are pretty scary!*

This is why I ALWAYS recommend that people take pictures of their tortoises and have a family member in the picture for i.d. purposes.


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## Katherine (Dec 6, 2011)

*RE: Some people are pretty scary!*



emysemys said:


> This is why I ALWAYS recommend that people take pictures of their tortoises and have a family member in the picture for i.d. purposes.



A great idea! I need to update my photos and appreciate the reminder, we can never be too careful...


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## Laura (Dec 6, 2011)

*RE: Some people are pretty scary!*

Please report this. Chances are its just a scare tactic,, but there is that small percentage of people that are a problem. 
If the police have a name of the plate, phone number etc.. they can research that, run them in the sysytem and might be able to see if you have a reason to worry or just leasson learned. 
You did nothing wrong. the dog owner is the one who is at fault. she lost the dog, no ID on the dog, no chip.. Dogs are property and now the person who claimed it falsly in in possession of stolen property. I would bet they try to sell it. watch the adds for puppy for sale. Go to the Media if you have to. or have the Owner do that. 
Dont let this stop you from helping things in the future.. get proof.. receipt, vet records, photos etc. and meet them in a public place to do the return. not your home. 
good luck.. i hope this passes..


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## Kristina (Dec 6, 2011)

*RE: Some people are pretty scary!*

Print off a copy of the email including ALL the headers and report it to the local PD. IP address can be tracked, and it sounds like these people are not bright enough to cover their tracks if they are resorting to crude intimidation tactics to try to get you to not testify. Ridiculous.


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## StudentoftheReptile (Dec 6, 2011)

*RE: Some people are pretty scary!*

I wager the rightful owners were able to get their dog back, and the thieves were sore about it, so they wanted to rattle your cage. Chances are it wouldn't escalate to anything beyond a hate email, but like everyone said, it is in your best interests to report the email to the police just to cover your end. May get a squad car to patrol your neighborhood for the next several days in case they do something dumb like try to egg your house.
---
just wanted to elaborate....if they were the type of people to go beyond a hateful email, they probably would've skipped the email entirely and went straight to vandalizing your car or something. Just my $.02.


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## CLMoss (Dec 6, 2011)

Never underestimate a crazy person who has threatened you. Go to the police, yesterday!!!

~C


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## Beeliz (Dec 6, 2011)

Everything happens for a reason,I think the dog must be better off now,and I really think you need to inform the police of the email. Be on the safe side. You don't know who or what kind of person you're dealing with


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## Neltharion (Dec 6, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*



ascott said:


> I bet they will hash it out to some resolve. Maybe you should give the "actual" owner lady a call back and see if she took custody of her dog again?
> 
> On the flip side, you went through all of the effort to have id check done, post on craigslist....I am left to wonder why the owner did not also post a craigslist add showing she lost her dog right away??



Just an update, I talked to the owner of the dog today. After the police report was filed and our statements were taken, an officer was sent over to claim the puppy four days after it was wrongfully taken. 

The original owner had one of those doggie doors on the back door to her house, and hadn't realized the puppy escaped through a hole dug under the fence until the following day. She was getting ads placed in the paper, but really wasn't aware of what Craigslist was all about. A relative had called her and pointed out my ad to her. 

She also received an e-mail that stated something to the effect that *expletives* that lose things don't deserve to get them back. I told her that I was contacting the officer about the e-mail that I got, and suggested that she do the same, even though hers was not a implicit threat. The officer took the information and said he was starting a file with the Computer Crimes and Electronic Evidence Unit. He did need an e-mail with all headers. I was told that if I continue receiving threats, if I notice any suspicious activity around my home, or if anything is vandalized to report it right away.




jaizei said:


> Also, do you have a clear picture of her on surveillance? Shaming can have a powerful effect. Posting something like this on Craigslist or Facebook with her picture might make her think twice.



I can actually pause the survellience footage and get a decent pic of her. I was going to warn people on Craiglist not to give animals to her. After I got the e-mail though, I didn't think it was such a good idea to rattle her further.

What was interesting, was that she found me on Facebook. Not hard to do, since my profile isn't private and hidden, and you can plug any e-mail address and find out if there is a profile associated to it. 

I saw her profile on the right hand nav, under People You Many Know, when its not a friend of a friend, its someone that has viewed your profile.


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## StudentoftheReptile (Dec 6, 2011)

If you haven't already, you can block her on Facebook.

Glad to hear the dog is back with its rightful owner.

Gotta love how some people think!



> "*expletives* that lose things don't deserve to get them back"



....said the woman who lied and stole just to get a free dog.


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## dmmj (Dec 6, 2011)

Good to know the police are treating it seriously, and in case anything happens, you now have a paper trail.


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## jaizei (Dec 6, 2011)

*RE: Some people are crappy.*



Neltharion said:


> ascott said:
> 
> 
> > I bet they will hash it out to some resolve. Maybe you should give the "actual" owner lady a call back and see if she took custody of her dog again?
> ...





Actually on Facebook you can make it so that people can't use your email to find your profile. 

Though, that's the reason why I have a separate email account solely for Craigslist. It also only lists my first name on the header. Just in case.


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## Angi (Dec 7, 2011)

Call the police. She is crazy and a BAD person.


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## Laura (Dec 7, 2011)

as for warning people... you can write a generic post about what happened to you and do not mention names.. but to tell people to be carefull and to get ID, proof etc. 
Im glad the PD took it seriously.. Im sure this is not the first time she did this.. I hope its the last, but you never know..


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## Beeliz (Dec 7, 2011)

Beeliz said:


> Everything happens for a reason,I think the dog must be better off now,and I really think you need to inform the police of the email. Be on the safe side. You don't know who or what kind of person you're dealing with



woops,,I misunderstood,,I am very glad that the rightful owner has her pup back!!,,I think this all happened so that crazy woman would be caught and dealt with in the right manner


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## Terry Allan Hall (Dec 7, 2011)

Neltharion said:


> I'd like to replace the word crappy in the subject line with something else, but can't without getting an infraction.
> 
> About a week ago, I walked out of a Moroccan restaurant with my nephews. They really like the place because you get to sit on the floor and eat with your hands. I like the the place for the belly dancers err. . . . .I mean good food.
> 
> ...



DEFINITELY tell the police about the "MYOB" message, and do it soonest...you never know if someone is bluffing!


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## Neltharion (Dec 7, 2011)

Laura said:


> as for warning people... you can write a generic post about what happened to you and do not mention names.. but to tell people to be carefull and to get ID, proof etc.
> Im glad the PD took it seriously.. Im sure this is not the first time she did this.. I hope its the last, but you never know..



Someone else, I'm guessing its the true owner of the puppy, posted a warning on Craigslist warning people that find animals to verify ownership by asking for pics, or not posting pics in the ads and forcing people to provide descriptions. It didn't last long though. I suspect flaggers got it taken down. I'll probably post something similar.


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## Katherine (Dec 12, 2011)

Just wanted to say thank you! A young collarless dog followed me home (ie chased me for 4miles!!!) from a bike ride yesterday and when screening potential owners I will be meeting them all at my vets office and requesting photographic proof of ownership from anyone claiming to own the dog. I also set up a new email account for correspondence relating to the sweet puppy. I am often niave and have foolish faith in the goodness of man...I am not sure I would have taken all these precautions if you had not shared your story, so thank you again- I appreciate it greatly!!


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## Angrycowgoesmoo (Dec 12, 2011)

:O that woman is just not right in the brain!(the one who claimed was her dog but wasn't) I think you did the right thing! It's good you didn't leave the puppy in the parking lot because it could of died or maybe the lady could of tooked it and kept it and the trueful owner would have never got it back!


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## Candy (Dec 12, 2011)

I would definitely get the officer involved with the email. I'm sorry this happened to you, but the dog is safe because you took it. There are a lot of scary people out there, but when they lie like that one did it makes them even scarier. What really scares me about this story is that there is a mother out there who lies to her children to give them someone elses dog and pretend that it was theirs in the first place. That is the truly disgusting part of this.


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## Neltharion (Dec 12, 2011)

katherine said:


> Just wanted to say thank you! A young collarless dog followed me home (ie chased me for 4miles!!!) from a bike ride yesterday and when screening potential owners I will be meeting them all at my vets office and requesting photographic proof of ownership from anyone claiming to own the dog. I also set up a new email account for correspondence relating to the sweet puppy. I am often niave and have foolish faith in the goodness of man...I am not sure I would have taken all these precautions if you had not shared your story, so thank you again- I appreciate it greatly!!



I'm like you. It had never occurred to me that someone would claim a dog that wasn't theirs. When I stop and think about it, its really disappointing to know that someone would take a dog and leave the true owner sad and wondering what happened to it. If I ever come across a lost pet again, I know better now.



Candy said:


> I would definitely get the officer involved with the email. I'm sorry this happened to you, but the dog is safe because you took it. There are a lot of scary people out there, but when they lie like that one did it makes them even scarier. What really scares me about this story is that there is a mother out there who lies to her children to give them someone elses dog and pretend that it was theirs in the first place. That is the truly disgusting part of this.



There's a file on record with the Computer Crimes and Electronic Evidence Unit at my local police department. Hopefully, it doesn't amount to any more. Its sad to think that she's passing those same values on to her kids.


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## Livblue (Dec 15, 2011)

I wanted to take a min and say... sorry people suck so much. You did the right thing. You tried your best. While doing the right thing you arnt as likely to think that others are doing the wrong thing. You got trapped by a crazy /mean person and were taken advantage of. 

Certainly call the officer back and report the email just in case things get escalated later.


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