Ransom paid for Whippet puppies

23 Apr 2009 08:02


A WHIPPET exhibitor and breeder has described how she negotiated with thieves over the recovery of three of her puppies.
On Good Friday, Pauline Oliver of the Spyanfly Whippets was making
lunch for friends and let her five 15-week-old puppies out into the
garden. Five minutes later she checked on them but could not see them.
On further investigation she found two puppies sitting in their beds.
“They didn’t greet me like they usually do but just sat there very quietly looking at me,” she said.
Mrs Oliver, who lives near Basingstoke, made a frantic search of the
garden, and when she was unable to find the other three puppies she
phoned the police – two local officers are the owners of one of
her dogs.
She also contacted the dog warden and Doglost.
“I emailed all the dog folk in my address book and printed some posters,” she said.
“Internet doggy friends got busy printing and distributing
posters and flyers some of which were made by Doglost. I must emphasise
how efficient, caring and instrumental Doglost was, and they really
gave me great hope that the puppies would be found.
“I was staggered at the response from dog folk – that they
really got on and did positive things such as emailing others, forums
and organisations.
“I also got in touch with radio and TV stations.”

[b]Travellers[/b]



The next morning Mrs Oliver’s husband and friend were handing out flyers at a local travellers’ site.
“Two elderly men he spoke to were very pleasant but a young man
took a look at the poster but said nothing,” she said.
“Soon after this I received a call from a man who said he felt sure he knew where one of the pups was.
“By the end of the conversation he said he knew he would be able
to ‘go in’ and get the three puppies out at a price –
as he would have to pay.
“He asked for £1,000 per puppy. I told him that that was
impossible, and bartered him down to £500 each. I told him it
would take some time to visit three cash machines to get the money.
“We arranged to meet an hour and a half later in a lay-by.”
Mrs Oliver then phoned the police.
“They advised me to let them go to the scene, but I turned that
down because I didn’t want any chance of losing my
puppies,” she said.
“They said it was our choice but that if we did proceed on our
own they would have cars half a mile away and we were to call 999 if
things went wrong. They would also have plain-clothed police driving up
and down the road witnessing the event.”
Mr and Mrs Oliver drove to the appointed place and waited for five minutes before a car pulled up.
“I had told them that I wouldn’t get out of the car, and
that they were to hand me a puppy at a time through the window, and I
would pay for one puppy at a time,” Mrs Oliver said.
“There were two male adults in the front and a young lad in the back holding the puppies.
“All went smoothly and nothing was said until I was putting the
window up and I told him that I didn’t ever want to see him
again.”
As the Olivers drove away, reaching a roundabout, four police cars appeared.
An officer told them later that they had witnessed the exchange and had made a note of the registration number of the vehicle.
The puppies seemed none the worse for their ordeal.
“They were OK, although they hadn’t been fed and stank of
ammonia probably from horse urine,” Mrs Oliver said.
“But we have learnt a lot, and we’re willing to share our
knowledge with others so it will be easier for them to cope with such a
frightening experience.”

http://www.dogworld.co.uk/News/17-whi-pups

Bloody hell!!

:thinking: was wondering if anyone here would do the same thing and pay the ransom????
i would do anything for my dogs, anything!!!!

and i admit i would of paid it

me to karen i would have paid it too ... how awful though :Angry: