Plagued by malicious calls in her time of need, an Eden woman speaks out about scammers after her dogs went missing.
Heidi Batey last saw her dogs Bea, a brown border terrier and Molly a white Staffordshire bull terrier cross, on November 4 walking near her home in King’s Meaburn.
The search involved locals sweeping the area, leaving out food and scented clothes for the dogs and even recruiting a drone pilot putting eyes in the skies.
With only one potential sighting of the dogs in the area, Heidi now believes that the dogs were stolen and is urging people to keep an eye out for the lost pair.
Heidi registered the pooches with DogLost, a charity that reunites dogs with their owners and gained some public awareness.
But, in doing so, she also attracted some unwelcome attention from scammers.
She said about seven people called her over the last month claiming to have her dogs, and trying to ransom their return.
Informed about the scam by DogLost, Heidi said she knew the callers didn’t have her dogs but wanted to raise awareness among less in-the-know dog owners.
“It made me feel sick inside that someone would do that,” she said.
“You’re so desperate that you almost want to believe they have your dog, and I can see how some people might fall for it.”
She also urged vets to scan all dogs that come into their surgeries, and hope it will become a legal requirement soon.
As a former dog breeder and admin of a 50,000 Border terrier group on Facebook, she is well connected in the dog world and said she hoped people would keep their eyes peeled for the dogs.
To report a sighting, email: (news@cwherald.com//admin@cumbriacrack.com)
