A Baltimore woman is convinced her Pugs are the victims of a dognapping scheme, and she is encountering many of the frustrations common in such cases.
Sherrie T. says someone stole her two Pugs--Ritchie and Thomas--from the backyard of her N.E. Baltimore home on Friday, July 20.
My backyard is like Ft. Knox, she says. I have a four-foot wooden privacy fence. Theres no way my dogs could escape.
Early Saturday morning, Sherrie posted flyers around her neighborhood about the missing dogs.
She also contacted the animal shelters in Baltimore, her veterinarians office, the Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue organization, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Her first break in the case came Saturday morning.
Two teenagers saw me frantic and distraught walking the neighborhood and said theyd seen my dogs leaving a (nearby) house and being put into a black car, Sherrie says. They didnt get a license plate on the car, though.
Sherries neighbors immediately took a flyer to that house, located in the 5100 block of Belair Road in Baltimore.
Around 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, I got a call from a woman who said she had one of my dogs, Sherrie says. She said she wasnt sure where my other dog was.
Ransom Demand
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Still missing: ThomasI told her there was no reward because my dogs were stolen. I also told her there was a national search for my dogs and that some teenagers had seen my dogs taken from the house on Belair Road.
The woman said she didnt want any trouble--but wanted a reward--and claimed someone had taken the dogs to her moms house.
The caller finally told Sherrie she could come and get her dog.
But the address and phone number she gave me turned out to be bogus, Sherrie says.
Thats when Sherrie contacted the Baltimore Police Department and asked officers to meet her in front of the Belair Road house--the last known location of her dogs.
On Monday morning, Sherrie made her fourth call to the police.
I told them I was reporting some stolen property and that I had waited for them for three hours last night. Then I e-mailed my councilman, Nicholas DAdamo. He called me at 9:30 Monday night.
After talking to Sherrie, Councilman DAdamo contacted the police.
And the police immediately sent five patrol cars to the house on Belair Road, Sherrie says. Thats how they were able to locate the woman who called me and demanded a reward for my dogs.
Her story to them is that she found the dogs walking the neighborhood and that my other dog was hit by a car. But she couldnt say where that accident occurred.
Baltimore police and the city's heatlh department have now formed an interagency task force that will more vigorously investigate dogfighting, city officials said late Friday.
Police Find Richie
Pressure from the police paid off. At 11:30 p.m. Monday, officers recovered one of Sherries Pugs Richie.
The woman who called me had Richie in her possession. But she wasnt at the Belair Road house when they retrieved him. She was at another housenot far away.
Relief
Its wonderful. I think I finally stopped crying on Tuesday. I dont have any more tears to cry.
But Richie isnt the same dog he was, she says, adding she rescued both Pugs, who are twin brothers that have never been separated. Hes not eating. And he keeps looking for Thomas. Thats why I keep taking him out in the neighborhood. He took me to a street weve never walked down beforehes definitely on the search for Thomas.
Search Continues
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Happier Times: Thomas & RitchieShe continues to hang up flyers, contact the local shelters, and pound the pavement--convinced that Thomas is somewhere in the neighborhood.
Someone said they thought they saw a dog jump out the window of that black car, Sherrie says, adding both her Pugs have microchips that can be used to identify them. They also had collars and tags when they were stolen, but Richies was missing when he returned.
I think Thomas is somewhere nearby. I think maybe the woman who had Richie has Thomas, too. Of the two, its probably better that Thomas is the one still missing. Hes the tougher of the two.
A Mysterious Disappearance
Baltimore police told ConsumerAffairs.com theyre handling this case as the mysterious disappearance of two dogs.
A spokesman said there are no eyewitnesses who saw the Pugs being stolen. He also said theres no evidence the woman who had Richie stole the dog. Authorities, he added, have not charged anyone in connection with the case.
A Problem in Baltimore
Councilman DAdamo told us hes happy Sherrie recovered at least one of her dogs.
I hope and pray she gets her other dog back. I wish we could do more, he said.
When asked if Baltimore has a dognapping problem, Councilman DAdamo said: It happens a lot. We have a problem with Pit Bull fighting. In the last two years, Pit Bull fighting has become big on the entire East Coast.
The U.S. Humane Society and other animal rights organizations say dogs are often stolen and used as bait to train Pit Bulls.
But police can never catch those involved, Councilman DAdamo said of the problem in his city. Its hard to say who is doing it. We see the animals when theyre dead--after the fact. Theyre holding these fights in places where no one is around.
DAdamo said no one comes forward with information about these dog fighting cases--or other violent crimes.
Were the second most violent city in the country, he said. We have people killed on the street every day. But people dont want to get involved. Its sad. We shouldnt live like this.
Of the recovery of Sherries dog, Richie, he said: It is amazing that she got one of her dogs back.
In the meantime, anyone with information about Sherries missing PugThomasshould contact the Baltimore Police Departments N.E. Division at 1-410-396-2444;
