Petcetera offers $5,000 reward to solve dognapping

"Matthew Ramsey
The Province
Friday, September 03, 2004


How much is that doggy in the window?

Petcetera has posted a $5,000 reward for the return of Chingoo, a Shih Tzu cross, mistakenly returned to the wrong person after a grooming session at a Vancouver store Aug. 31.

Chingoo's owner, Teddy Lee, says he took the small white dog with brown freckles on its belly into the Petcetera at 2876 Rupert for a pre-paid grooming at 1 p.m. Lee, 27, informed staff that either he or his mother would pick up the three-year-old dog. He was told to collect Chingoo, Korean for "friend," at 4:30 p.m. that day.

When he came to gather up his cherished canine, Lee was advised that an older Asian male had already claimed the dog, asking for the animal by name.

The problem is, Lee doesn't know of any older Asian men who would have picked the dog up in his or his mother's place.

The search for Chingoo was on.

"They know that it's a huge mistake on their part," Lee said of Petcetera. "They are willing to do whatever they can to help."

So far Petcetera has contacted all 34 stores in the chain to advise them of the apparent dognapping, posted signs in each store, called B.C. animal shelters, other groomers and the SPCA and topped off recovery efforts with a $5,000 reward.

Lee has sent out more than 100 letters to vets in the Lower Mainland.

Petcetera owner Daniel Urbani told The Province the mistake is the first of its kind in the seven-year history of the business that has seen approximately 500,000 dogs and cats groomed.

"The company is distraught over it," Urbani said last night.

The intent of the reward is to help recover Chingoo as soon as possible. Somebody may have inadvertently purchased the animal from the unidentified man, who Urbani said appears to have planned the incident.

Petcetera is also in the process of reevaluating its policies and procedures when it comes to returning pets to their owners. The Chingoo case was difficult to avoid because the man who took the dog asked for it by name and staff had been told that someone else might pick him up, Urbani said.

"Everything seemed to be very normal," Urbani said.

Chingoo is white with shades of brown, about 30 cm tall, 45 cm long, 7 kg, with brown freckles on his belly. The dog is not neutered, was not wearing a collar or implanted with a microchip, and does not have an ID tattoo in his ear. Lee said Chingoo is very friendly and usually turns his head at a 45-degree angle when called. Anyone with information should call Teddy or Christine Lee at 604-897-7709 or 604-537-7255."

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The scary thing is, this place is so close to my house. I go there all the time and considered taking Kai and Kae there to be groomed. :eek: Scary..