Entire Dog Blog

A 72-year old woman in Coon Rapids (Minnesota) has received a series of phone calls demanding $500 to save the life of her missing year-old Pomeranian-poodle mix Honey. A second family reports receiving similar phone calls, although their dog is not missing.

Honey ran off on December 27 when Shirley Garner stepped outside to shake rugs. She put up posters about this missing dog. She received the first of 10-12 ransom calls six days later.

In the initial incident, Shirley Garner told police that on Jan. 2 and the next day a man with a heavy Middle Eastern or south Asian accent called her and demanded that she pay him $500 to return her dog, Honey, or he would kill her

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She said the caller has told her: "I have your dog. I like her. She's mine. ... $500 or she dies."

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[Deputy Chief Tim] Snell said, "We don't have anywhere to go" in solving the case, unless police can determine a phone number for the caller. Garner told police that she has no caller-identification technology on her phone.

As for whether the caller actually has Garner's dog, Snell said, "My immediate reaction ... without any facts to base it on, is that he is trying to scam her" and does not have her pet.

Even if he doesn't have Honey, Snell said that this ongoing threat is a cruel form of harassment toward the couple.

Garner acknowledged that it's possible the caller doesn't have Honey, but added that during one call she could hear what she thought was her dog whimpering in the background, "crying, like he pinched her."

FOLLOW-UP: 'Ransom Call' Dog Returns Home