Lost Park Slope Dog Held for Ransom

A family is searching for its lost French Bulldog Sugar—and they think they know who has her. After the pet ran away in Prospect park they received a mysterious phone call from a gruff-voiced man, demanding money in exchange for their dog’s safe return. According to the Brooklyn Paper, when Drucie Belman, a Brooklyn resident, failed to offer a sufficient sum, the man hung up and he hasn’t reached her since. Now Belman has put a call out to the neighborhood and a local dog organization asking for help finding Sugar. "I just love this dog," she said.

Last Wednesday Sugar wandered off when Belman’s kids—who were out of school because of the Snow Day—were playing in Prosepect Park. "We called her name and clapped our hands for hours," Sugar’s owner told the Daily News. "The police in the park were looking. ... The Parks [Department] people were looking." After hours of searching in vain they went home. By the time the phone call came from the man who claimed to have Sugar, the mom had already put out an online alert via the dog organization FIDO. Her phone number was also hanging from her pet’s collar.

"We have your dog," the man said. "How much are you willing to give me for it?" Belman asked how much he wanted and whether her dog was alright. "No, no, no!" replied the alleged dog-napper. "How much are you going to give me for your dog?" Not thinking, she said $50, at which point he hung up. "I can't believe I said $50," Belman said later. "I would have paid anything. This dog is the glue of our family." The number was blocked when she tried to call back, and later when he rang again she was on the other line. Now the Belmans are left wondering whether their canine is really in the custody of this bandit or if it’s all a cruel prank. Just last week a doggy coat was stolen from another Park Slope pooch.

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By Sabrina Jaszi in News on February 14, 2010 10:46 AM

Comments [rss]

catsinpairs

I agree windedeath, I hope Sugar bites him in the groin. What sort of sick person takes a family member? What has this world come to? I hope he is caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

invisibleman

i see what you did there

wingedearth

God damn thugs in Prospect Park ought to be rounded up and shot. I mean, who kidnaps a dog and ransoms him? Too many filthy savages in Brooklyn. I hope the dog tears his throat out.

invisibleman

sugar is a rangers fan

wonderchimp5

that aint a french bulldog. its more like an english bulldog/boxer/basset hound. aka an english box hound.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

The French Bulldog can be a great little dog, but the reality is that his physical build is neither natural or healthy. The French Bulldog, in fact, is afflicted with two skeletal deformities: chondrodysplasia and brachycephalic syndrome.

Chondrodysplasia

Dogs were never intended to have a long back and short legs, especially if the legs are bowed (like Queen Anne furniture legs). This build is caused by a genetic skeletal deformity called chondrodysplasia, which translates roughly to faulty cartilage.

When a puppy is developing in the womb, his skeleton is first formed in cartilage as a sort of model. As he continues to develop, the cartilage is supposed to be replaced by bone. But if, because of certain inherited genes, the cartilage doesn't get enough blood to transform properly into normal bone, the puppy will be born with incorrect proportions of cartilage and bone. The result is a large head and chest, short, thick, bowed front legs, and a longish back with calcified disks that lack elasticity and cushioning powers and are predisposed to coming loose and protruding into the spinal canal (intervertebral disk disease). Chondrodysplastic dogs are also more susceptible to joint problems, and later in life, arthritis.

youngpro

hey, felix, if you're gonna type b.s., at least be original and don't steal from other website or anything:

http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/faq/frenchbulldogs.html

look familiar?

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

$50? WTF? She should have at least said 500 dollars. Shame on her for being so fucking cheap.

youngpro

so you CAN put a price on the value of a dog? didn't you just contradict yourself?

Amanda Harletsch

what is really fkdup here is that if she agrees to pay more than say...$80 then kidnapping dogs becomes profitable for criminals

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

I would worry about punishing them after I have my pet back. Have police or a friend follow them but first priority would be the safety and return of the dog. $50? What a selfish cheap bitch. Would she offer $50 for her child?

youngpro

no....because a dog is a dog, and a child is a child. totally different thing, felix. duh.

thefacts

Randolph Hearst also got cheap and refused to pay the full ransom and look what happened to Patty.

Malcolm Tucker

"Call me Tania, pigs"

-- the French Bulldog formerly known as "Sugar"

NannyState

The 'no pets' policy at Hibernia Bank ought to stop this one.

Barbj8

So the dog is going to turn rogue!

verbal

That's why there are leash laws for these feral beasts; hope they mail her an ear as proof of life.

Spirit of 76

I give less than an hour before felixthecat comes in and says this family doesn't deserve to have the dog back because they obviously bought it from a puppy mill that inbreeds for deformities, bla bla bla.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

Yes shame on you and this person for funding BREEDERS. Shame on you to treat other species as accessories. Why don't you join the KKK where you belong?

turtlepower

I 100% agree with you. Though since *that* damage has already been done, moving forward, I just really hope this dog can be returned safe to its family or is comfortable and being taken care of wherever she is. And yeah, I honestly do not understand the $50 offer either. I would volunteer to drain my fucking bank account... even as a knee-jerk response! "YOU CAN HAVE ANY AND EVERYTHING." Poor dog. Poor family. I can't imagine.