Lost and Found/What Price For Love

Jul 25, 8:32 AM EDT

Ohio Couple Pays Man for Returning Dog




CINCINNATI (AP) -- One little doggie is safely back home and the man who brought it back is a lot richer.

Joni Statzer and her husband, Kevin, of suburban Whitewater Township, paid a $10,000 reward to Adam Hoffrogge, who found their runaway dog.

The Statzers thought their 1-year-old Parson Russell terrier had been stolen after she wandered away from their home Saturday.

The couple was especially worried because of their dog's three-week-old litter of four ailing puppies, which they said could die without their mother. The puppies were being treated for an enzyme deficiency.

The Statzers searched for days and posted signs offering the reward.

Finally, Hoffrogge, 22, contacted them Thursday.

Hoffrogge told the couple he had picked up Winnie on Saturday after two cars nearly hit her.

Joni Statzer said she was glad to pay Hoffrogge the reward.

"Every human can relate to the love you feel with a pet you're close to," she said. "That's the most human feeling of all - love. And to have that loss, and then have the return of Winnie - it's a fairy-tale ending."

Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

That is wonderful that the dog was returned and also very generous that the family rewarded so huge...but in all honesty, I would never accept a reward like that for finding someones beloved animal. Just the act of taking the animal back to it's loving home is reward enough.

It's a wonderful story, Liz. It just goes to show you how valuable our animals are that we would pay just about anything to keep them in our lives. I'd re-mortgage our house, I'd do anything necessary to keep my babies in my life, but I would never accept a reward for finding and returning a furkid. Especially not 10K!

I've found dogs befor they've gone missing & some owners have offered me 20-50 for hunting the owner down & returning the dog. All I've ever excepted for an award was a can of pop, or a box of candies. Pop is my # one treat & when I was young, a can of pop was my reward. So pop means more to me then $

I actually would take the reward and then donate it to a local shelter or humane organization (or ask them to do it). Imagine how many animals 10K would help. Plus I feel that press like this would make people more aware that pets are important in many people lives. If a story like this makes one more person make an effort to rescue a stray dog and try to find it's owners - I am all for it.

This story is so sweet, but if I don't know if I would put up a reward of that much money, if I had the mney to do so then I guess I would.

I agree with AdoreMyDogs, I would never accept a reward for returning someone's animal.

Sierra ran off for 27 hours once with my in-laws dog I posted signs everywhere, did everything I could. I went door to door in the area they ran off...and a few people said "Yeah I saw those dogs, but the black one scared me so I didn't try to catch them" (the black on was Sierra, people thought she was a wolf!)

So...needless to say I got her back, three boys 9 & 10 were having a snowball fight and the two came out to play with them, they read my phone number off the tag, called me (I almost passed out when I heard the boy say he had them in his garage) My hubby and my in-laws RUSHED to the house and gave each of the boys $10 and the next day had a bunch of cookies delevered to the house!!! If I had more money, I would have given it to them!!

PUPS ARE PRICELESS!!!

Wow, that is a lot of money!! That is great of them to offer that much for the return of their dog. I would offer every penny of myne, to get my dog home too if they had run away :)

What a wonderful story.....I honestly don't think I could take the reward money, though.