Strange is the world.
Denizens in the badlands of Bihar are forever worried to death about kidnapping of family and close relatives while their counterparts in the canyons of Manhattan are presently in a tizzy about dognapping (kidnapping of their dogs).
As we were poring over our copy of the latest issue (Jan 5, 2009) of the New Yorker yesterday, our eyes wandered to a story on how the ladies of Manhattan have all got their knickers in a twist over stories of dognapping and ransom demands.
Here’s an excerpt from the New Yorker story:
And then, several weeks ago, dog-napping terror hit the Upper West Side. E-mails began circulating (one subject line: “DOGNAPPING attempts in NYC with RAZOR and RANSOM—get dogs ON LEASHES—happening on West Side”), and flyers were posted at dog runs and veterinary offices and pet stores (“COMMUNITY ALERT: DOGNAPPING attempts on the West Side”). Dog owners, particularly women with small dogs—said to be the prime target—began to panic.
A survey of Upper West Side dog runs and pet stores turned up various versions of the same story. “There’s a two-man team, with one in a gray hoodie on a bicycle who comes by and slices the leash with a razor, then goes away with the dog. The other guy calls you up later on and says, ‘Hey, I found your dog! What’s it worth to you?’ ” said Charlie Allen, the owner of Gotham Pups pet services, who was glumly watching two of his charges (Beezus, a mutt, and Delta, a yellow Labrador) romp across the dog run on West Eighty-first Street the other day. “It’s completely unpleasant.”
Besides the obvious ransom opportunity, other possible reasons cited for the dognappings include supplying the dogs to research labs and for use in illegal dogfights.
Ironically, despite all the hullabaloo the local police have not come across any reports of dognapping.
So why the dognapping scare?
One professor puts the onus for the scare on the displacement of economic anxiety caused by the financial crisis.
Kidnappers Prey on Manhattan Bitches added by SearchIndia.com on
View all posts by SearchIndia.com →
Recently, I read an article in The Hindu, about free soup kitchens in Germany for pets. Due to the tough times, a lot of pet owners in Germany are not able to fulfill the dietary needs of their pets. Some good samaritans and agencies have opened up centres for free distribution of pet food, and medical care. In some other cases, the pets have been taken away by govt./animal rights agencies, much to the grief of their helpless owners.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Interesting.
It’s possible that something similar is happening here too.
“Besides the obvious ransom opportunity, other possible reasons cited for the dognappings include supplying the dogs to research labs and for use in illegal dogfights.”
Are you implying that Michael Vick escaped from federal prison and is now on the loose on the Upper West Side searching for dogs to fight under the banner of Bad Newz Kennels again?
For all the bharat bashing that goes on here, at least India can’t lay claim to producing boneheads like Vick or Plaxico Burress, acha?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Yes, we remember those incidents.
For those outside the U.S., you may read here about Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress.
That title was soooooooooooooo misleading.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Ah, you were expecting the biped kind, were you?
Au contraire, the title was apt.