NIMISHILLEN TWP. ‒ A lost dog wrongly turned over to two men who didn’t own the animal has been found safe and now the incident is part of a criminal investigation and possible scam, according to the Stark County Humane Society.
Over the weekend, two men who said they were the owners of a Belgian Malinois named Enzo claimed it from the Humane Society. This turned out to be false, according to the agency.
“We later discovered that this, in fact, is not their dog,” the agency said in a prepared statement. “Both have been contacted but have stated they gave the dog to another gentleman claiming to be said owner.”
The agency on Monday posted that the dog was located and Enzo is now part of a criminal investigation.
“Enzo has been found — he is safe! More updates later today! Please note this is a criminal investigation and that is all that can be publicly stated at this time!” according to the post. “We want to thank SCHS Animal Investigator, Stark County Sheriff’s Department, Canton Police Department, and you our FB friends!”
Stark County Humane Society: Dog unlawfully claimed
The Belgian Malinois was brought into the shelter on Friday with no tags or microchips to aid with owner identification. The Stark County Humane Society created a Facebook post regarding the found dog, and the two men came to claim him the next morning.
The men reportedly showed photos of the dog to staff members to identify him, and copies of their licenses were made. Since discovering the two were not the owners, the Humane Society stated it filed a report with the Sheriff’s Office, and has also contacted the Canton Police Department and Canton City Prosecutor’s Office.
“We through social media have been informed that this may be a regular procedure that this said ‘team’ has been executing across Stark County,” the Stark County Humane Society said in a statement. “They regularly visit lost / found post on all known platforms on social media and frequent animal shelters.”
The agency added that there is a possible organized scam involving people falsely claiming dogs.
A comment has been requested from the Canton Police Department and Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with information on the incident can contact the shelter at 330-453-5529 or the Sheriff’s Office at 330-430-3800.
Source link https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/stark-county/2024/12/30/stark-county-humane-society-found-the-unlawfully-reclaimed-lost-dog/77318110007/
