Lost Pet, Holiday Emotion Set Stage for a Con Game

A West Covina couple who lost their dog recently breathed a sigh of relief when someone answered their ad in the lost and found column, offering to return the pet if the couple would pay the shipping fee.

The money was sent, but the dog never arrived.

Police now say the couple fell prey to an all-to-common holiday scam.

While others are out spreading tidings of good cheer, confidence men such as the sort who answered the couple’s ad are out in full force, authorities said.

And as with most con games, the frequency of pet scams increases during the holiday season, when emotions and goodwill run high, said Sgt. Cori Whetstone of the investigation division of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“This is an emotional time of the year. I think people are much more willing to grasp at straws, get the dog home for Christmas so the family is not upset,” he said.

Getting Molly, a 15-month-old Alaskan malamute mix, back home in time for Christmas was the main thing on Glory Philp’s mind. The dog, which Philp had received as a birthday gift last year, disappeared Nov. 27.

Philp and her husband, John, spent hours searching the neighborhood and posting signs.

They ran ads in several newspapers, hoping that someone would find the animal and return it.

Last Sunday, it seemed as if Philp’s Christmas wish would come true. She received a call from a man in San Francisco, who gave his name as Don Molander and said he had Molly.

“He claimed that he and his wife were on vacation (in Southern California) . . . and that they picked up our dog,” she said.

He said he would gladly place the animal on the first flight back to Los Angeles if the Philps would wire him the cost of the ticket.

Thrilled at the thought of having her dog back, Philp phoned her husband and later that day they wired Molander $265 to cover the cost of the ticket and a reward for Molander’s troubles.

The reward money would come in handy, Molander told Philp, since his wife had just given birth to a baby boy.

“I know how expensive it is to have a baby . . . so I doubled the reward,” Philp said.

But instead of having Molly home for Christmas, the Philps now have a deficit in their bank account.

“We drove to the airport to find that it was all a hoax,” Philp said. “I was in tears.”

Once at the airport she discovered that the dog had never been on the plane, and further checking confirmed that the couple had been conned.

Lt. Charles Reed of the SPCA said his office receives about 300 calls a year reporting scams of this sort, with small variations.

Some con men will actually steal a family pet then return it after a reward has been posted.

Others will find a pet and hold it for ransom, refusing to return it until the owner pays a set amount.

“The basics are always the same,” Reed said. “It’s just a play on people who are willing to put their emotions ahead of good thinking power.”

But the Philps were cautious. Before sending the money they called West Covina police to see if there had been other reports of scams involving lost animals in the area. Police said they were unaware of such a scam, Philp said.

They called the airline the dog was supposed to be on to see if the reservation had actually been made. They double-checked to make sure the ticket price that Molander quoted was correct.

They even ran a police check of the name Don Molander, which turned up nothing. In retrospect, Philp believes that it may have been a phony name.

“We tried to cover all our bases,” she said.

Whetstone of the SPCA advised pet owners to use caution, especially during this time of the year.

“Don’t exchange money until you see your pet,” she said, and never go to retrieve your pet alone.

The Philps still hope that someone will return Molly, and that others will not be tricked as they were.

“He totally used all my emotions. He pushed my buttons left and right. He was brilliant,” Philp said.