DUBAI As lost-and-found cases go, it doesn’t get more bizarre than this. Last week, a Dubai-based woman was forced to pay Dh2,500 to a pet shop in order to recover her missing dog that had ended up there after exchanging several hands in a brazen pet flipping racket.
Sri Lankan expat Radha Fonseka told XPRESS that her Shih Tzu dog Murphy had gone missing in June when she sent him to a foster home as the flat she was relocating to refused to allow the pet. But a week later, much to her horror, the man who took Murphy in stopped taking her calls.
Police complaint
Smelling a rat, Fonseka said: “I lodged a police complaint against the man and with the help of a Filipina friend Gigi, put out a notice about Murphy missing on online forums of several animal groups.”
She said the man, who was summoned by the police, claimed that the dog had run away. But as luck would have it, a woman responded to one of the online posts saying a man was trying to sell a Shih Tzu to her. When the woman shared the man’s mobile phone number which she had noted, it turned out to be the same as that of the person who had taken Murphy from Fonseka.
“I sent Murphy’s picture to the woman and she confirmed it was the same dog. Unlike other Shi Tzus, Murphy’s front teeth come out, so he can be easily distinguished,” said Fonseka.
Subsequently, the woman also gave her statement to the police. The man admitted to selling Murphy to another man who sold the dog to a shop in the Sharjah Pet Market. But as it turned out, Murphy was no longer at the shop as he had been exchanged again.
Desperate to find him now, Fonseka launched a massive dog-hunt, knocking on the door of every vet clinic with the help of Murphy’s picture, hoping the dog’s new owner would have visited them. She also announced a cash reward of Dh4,000 to anyone who could find her pet.
Time wore on but there was little headway in the search. However, on August 19, there was a dramatic breakthrough.
Gigi who was visiting the Sharjah Pet Market for her pet’s grooming chanced upon a miserable Murphy couched in a cage in one of the shops. “She immediately called me and could barely speak as she was crying. Our Murphy had finally been found.”
When Fonseka and her husband rushed to the shop, their joy knew no bounds. But the touching reunion with Murphy had to wait as the shopkeeper wouldn’t part with the dog unless they paid him Dh2,500. He claimed he had bought the dog from a woman and couldn’t afford to lose the money.
“We just wanted our Murphy back, so we paid him the Dh2,500 and decided to sort out the matter with the authorities later. He even gave us a receipt,” said Fonseka.
Still unable to bring Murphy home as the landlord won’t allow it, Fonseka has lodged Murphy with a friend – till she can move to a dog-friendly home again.
