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By Joanna DelBuono
Brooklyn Daily
What the flip?
Flipping, it’s the latest scheming sensation sweeping the nation for criminals to make a buck. And according to police, it’s growing. Flipping is dog napping, and depending on the breed, you can make upwards of $1,000. Hey, it sure beats working for a living.
This is how it works:
The scammer finds a pooch lost on the street, or steals it, whatever, then tries to flip it on a website. If that doesn’t work or the owner discovers the flimflam scam, the scammer-thief then tries to extort a tidy sum to give the pooch back.
“The Today Show” did a piece on Flipping last Monday.
Pet owner Leisa Waggoner lost her pet schnauzer Rosie on the streets of Indianapolis. Heart broken, she did what any pet-loving owner would do. She put out flyers and surfed all the pet websites. Lo and behold, she discovered an ad for her very own Rosie. So she contacts the person who put the ad in, and finds that her adorable pooch was up for sale for $50 on Craigslist. Then, she confronts the woman, Jennifer Dodd, who put the ad in. And this is what happens.
Dodd has the dog and tries to extort money from Waggoner, holding Rosie for ransom. “She texted us,” said Waggoner, adding, “That if we gave her a $250 reward, she’d give our dog back to us.”
Waggoner then called in the police. They tracked down Dodd and arrested her, at which time Dodd plead guilty to felony theft.
“The Today Show” sent a reporter to interview Dodd to ask if she felt any remorse. Dodd replied, “I felt sorry for the dog.”
But she took the dog and tried to shill it on Craigslist anyway and then later tried to extort money from Waggoner because she [Dodd] needed the cash to buy diapers.
“I’m a single mom, I have fraternal twins on the way and I have a 1-year-old, and you know, the economy’s hard and stuff nowadays,” she said as she slammed the door.
That’s it. The economy is hard. Yup, the times sure are hard. So why work when scamming is so much easier?
The reporter didn’t say what the fine or punishment was for Dodd. But chances are, given the fact that she is a single mother, with one child and another two on the way, she will get some sort of break, pay a fine, and go her merry way, to flip, scam and sham another day.
Not for Nuthin™, but the next time you want to know how flipping far down the hole this country has gone, remember the tale of Rosie the schnauzer and owner Leisa Waggoner. Flipping for a living — you know, “the economy’s hard and stuff nowadays,” sure beats working.
PS: the show gave suggestions on how to avoid being a victim. Keep your pet securely on a leash, do not leave your pet unattended, even in your own backyard with a fence, and have a microchip implanted in your pet at the vet. It makes tracking, proof of ownership, and finding your pet a lot more possible.
Follow me on Twitter @JDelBuono.
Joanna DelBuono writes about national issues every Wednesday on BrooklynDaily.com. E-mail her at jdelbuono@cnglocal.com.