When police refused to investigate the theft of Jo Ann Arneson's dog Spunky and the ransom demand by the "dognapper," she got results by calling the Humane Society.
The 9-month-old labrador-German shepherd mix disappeared a month ago from Arneson's fenced yard in Spokane. She checked her neighborhood and contacted the Humane Society but found nothing.A few days later, she learned the pet had been "dognapped" when a man started calling.
"The phone calls were strange," Arneson said Friday. "I guess he got my number from the tags. He asked me what I wanted him to do with my dog and what I was willing to send him for it."
The man called again and talked to Arneson's roommate and left his phone number for Arneson to call back. But she gave the number to Spokane County sheriff's detectives and police in Taos, N.M.
"The detective told me there was nothing he could do because it was a dog," she said. "There was no investigation at all. None."
Arneson then called the Spokane Humane Society, which in turn contacted the Humane Society in Taos. The next time the man called, Arneson told him police and Humane Society officials were on his trail.
Three days later, Spunky was left at the Taos Humane Society.