• Caged dogs

 An increasingly bizarre dognapping case is under investigation in Mississippi, involving the same dog taken twice, pre­sumably by the same people, according to the Perry County Sheriff’s Office.

Among the odd details: The second incident occurred in an animal shelter lob­by — as staff looked on, the sheriff’s office said in a Nov. 30 news release.

The saga began Nov. 19, when the trained hunting dog “was stolen” while partic­ipating in a hunt near New Augusta, 110 miles southeast of Jackson, officials said.

“The dog was later taken to the Pine Belt Animal Shel­ter and an attempt was made to turn it in as an abandoned animal,” the sheriff’s office said.

“The dog did have a collar with owner’s information on it and it was a tracking collar. Workers at the shelter stated that they were going to con­tact the owner. The sub­jects grabbed the dog back up and left the shelter with the dog when the workers attempted to contact the owner.”

The tracking collar was found — minus the dog — “on another date,” officials said.

A surveillance camera took photos of the man and woman who brought the dog to the shelter the officials said. The sheriff’s office posted one of the photos on social media and is seeking help identifying the two.

Investigators have not released the breed and age of the dog. Hunting dog puppies can sell at between $250 (hounds) and $3,500 (re­trievers), depending on the breed, according to Hunting­pup.com

The department’s Face­book post on the case had more than 300 comments and reactions as of Dec. 5, including some who noted the details were baffling. Others assumed the theft was moti­vated by “anti-dog hunting” sentiments.

“Isn’t the point of stealing usually to profit the thief? If they aren’t going to keep the dog, why take it to a shelter then leave with it? What is this guy’s game?” one com­menter asked.

Source: yahoonews.com