Family pet rescued from ‘dognap’ gang
A FAMILY has been reunited with their pet after outsmarting dognappers who demanded a £500 ransom for her return.
Buttons, a two-year-old cocker spaniel, was snatched as she played in her garden. The heartbroken family pinned up posters round their home near Romsey, Hants. A few hours later they received a call from a stranger demanding cash.
The owner, who asked not to be named, turned detective and arranged to meet the crook. But instead of handing over the cash, he noted the man’s registration number and reported it to police.
Officers tracked the vehicle to an address 50 miles away in Aldermaston, Berkshire, but a raid found no trace of Buttons.
The culprit was eventually caught out after he tried to sell the dog and a passer-by became suspicious.
The local dog warden was called and Buttons was returned to her owner, hungry but unharmed.
He said: “This ordeal has been devastating because we love Buttons so much. It is shocking that something like this can happen.”
This ordeal has been devastating because we love Buttons so much
Jayne Hayes, of DogLost.co.uk, said she had seen a 200 per cent increase in thefts in a year. “Dognapping is rife in the South of England.”