Sounds like a future bookclub book plot - ripped from the headlines!!!
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/04/27/puppys_owner_tells_of_dognapping_foiled/
‘‘I wouldn’t leave Dakota alone ever again,’’ said Timothy Connors, holding the 11-week-old puppy yesterday. (Globe Photo / Jodi Hilton)
Puppy's owner tells of dognapping foiled
Boston Globe
The ordeal, said Timothy Connors, involved tense negotiations and repeated death threats. But Connors kept his cool as he negotiated for the return of the hostage: an 11-week-old puppy named Dakota.
Madison Park
April 27, 2005
-->
Puppy's owner tells of dognapping foiled
Salem man is charged with attempted extortion after canine found safe
By Madison Park, Globe Correspondent April 27, 2005
The ordeal, said Timothy Connors, involved tense negotiations and repeated death threats. But Connors kept his cool as he negotiated for the return of the hostage: an 11-week-old puppy named Dakota.
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''If you call the cops, I'll kill your puppy," Connors said the alleged dognapper kept telling him.
After five tense hours on Monday, Dakota, a 2-pound Pomeranian and Maltese mix, was back safe in his owner's arms. Yesterday, the playful puppy, who is no bigger than a football, lolled happily in Connor's palm, licking his owner's fingers.
And the alleged pooch snatcher was collared. Michael Cyr, also known as Steven Cyr, 43, of Salem, was arraigned yesterday in Boston Municipal Court, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted extortion by threat of injury and receiving a stolen motor vehicle, said David Procopio, spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney's office.
Cyr has a lengthy criminal record in Essex County, according to the Suffolk district attorney's office. Bail was set at $500, Procopio said.
According to accounts provided by Connors, his friend David Doren, the district attorney's office, and police, the ordeal began when Connors stepped into a 7-Eleven store in North Quincy for a bottle of water Monday morning. He left Dakota inside a dog carrier in the front seat and left his key in the ignition of his 1989 Chevrolet pickup truck. He immediately regretted doing so, when he emerged from the store and found a vacant spot where his truck had been.
Connors contacted the police and then called his cellphone, which he had also left inside the truck. The suspect, he said, answered the phone, screaming, threatening to kill the dog if the police got involved.
The worst part for Connors was telling his girlfriend that the dog was gone. A week earlier, Connors had bought Dakota as an early birthday present for her.
''I knew I had to get him back," said Connors, 30, a Quincy resident. ''I was afraid he was going to leave the truck parked somewhere and leave the dog inside."
He recruited two friends, David Doren and Thomas Hickey, a former Quincy police officer, in the rescue operation and they negotiated for the canine hostage through more than a dozen cellphone conversations. Doren said the suspect kept screaming: ''I got three guns! I'll kill you. I'll kill the dog."
Doren said he didn't take the man too seriously, saying, ''Who walks around with three guns and steals pickup trucks?"
The suspect demanded $500 in ransom and wanted to meet in Braintree. Connor and his friends hatched a strategy.
They rolled up two $20 bills and three $1 bills along with some napkins and stuffed it inside an envelope, hoping it looked like $500 in cash.
Later that afternoon, the suspect called again, wanting to meet at 2:30 p.m. outside the Downtown Crossing T station, Connors said. Connors agreed that the exchange would take place outside Macy's. Connors alerted Boston police, and two plainclothes detectives headed to Downtown Crossing.
As Doren stepped outside of the station, the suspect came up behind him and asked: ''You're Dave, right? Give me the envelope."
''Where's the truck? Where's the dog? Give me the keys," Doren responded.
They made the exchange. Doren said the suspect didn't even count the money and immediately stuffed the envelope containing $43 into his pocket, told him where the truck was parked, and ran away. ''He was more scared than I was," Doren said.
As the suspect fled, Doren, Connors, Hickey, two uniformed Boston police officers, and the two detectives darted after him. Barney Rivers, a Boston police officer, tackled the suspect on Tremont Street. Rivers suffered a dislocated middle finger and was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital, Procopio said.
The police officers found the vehicle in Chinatown with Dakota safely inside his carrier, wagging his tail and excited when Connors and his girlfriend showed up. After recovering his truck, puppy, and $43, Connors said he has learned his lesson.
''I wouldn't leave Dakota alone ever again, not even for 20 seconds," Connors said.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/04/27/puppys_owner_tells_of_dognapping_foiled/
‘‘I wouldn’t leave Dakota alone ever again,’’ said Timothy Connors, holding the 11-week-old puppy yesterday. (Globe Photo / Jodi Hilton)
Puppy's owner tells of dognapping foiled
Boston Globe
The ordeal, said Timothy Connors, involved tense negotiations and repeated death threats. But Connors kept his cool as he negotiated for the return of the hostage: an 11-week-old puppy named Dakota.
Madison Park
April 27, 2005
-->
Puppy's owner tells of dognapping foiled
Salem man is charged with attempted extortion after canine found safe
By Madison Park, Globe Correspondent April 27, 2005
The ordeal, said Timothy Connors, involved tense negotiations and repeated death threats. But Connors kept his cool as he negotiated for the return of the hostage: an 11-week-old puppy named Dakota.
ADVERTISEMENT
''If you call the cops, I'll kill your puppy," Connors said the alleged dognapper kept telling him.
After five tense hours on Monday, Dakota, a 2-pound Pomeranian and Maltese mix, was back safe in his owner's arms. Yesterday, the playful puppy, who is no bigger than a football, lolled happily in Connor's palm, licking his owner's fingers.
And the alleged pooch snatcher was collared. Michael Cyr, also known as Steven Cyr, 43, of Salem, was arraigned yesterday in Boston Municipal Court, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted extortion by threat of injury and receiving a stolen motor vehicle, said David Procopio, spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney's office.
Cyr has a lengthy criminal record in Essex County, according to the Suffolk district attorney's office. Bail was set at $500, Procopio said.
According to accounts provided by Connors, his friend David Doren, the district attorney's office, and police, the ordeal began when Connors stepped into a 7-Eleven store in North Quincy for a bottle of water Monday morning. He left Dakota inside a dog carrier in the front seat and left his key in the ignition of his 1989 Chevrolet pickup truck. He immediately regretted doing so, when he emerged from the store and found a vacant spot where his truck had been.
Connors contacted the police and then called his cellphone, which he had also left inside the truck. The suspect, he said, answered the phone, screaming, threatening to kill the dog if the police got involved.
The worst part for Connors was telling his girlfriend that the dog was gone. A week earlier, Connors had bought Dakota as an early birthday present for her.
''I knew I had to get him back," said Connors, 30, a Quincy resident. ''I was afraid he was going to leave the truck parked somewhere and leave the dog inside."
He recruited two friends, David Doren and Thomas Hickey, a former Quincy police officer, in the rescue operation and they negotiated for the canine hostage through more than a dozen cellphone conversations. Doren said the suspect kept screaming: ''I got three guns! I'll kill you. I'll kill the dog."
Doren said he didn't take the man too seriously, saying, ''Who walks around with three guns and steals pickup trucks?"
The suspect demanded $500 in ransom and wanted to meet in Braintree. Connor and his friends hatched a strategy.
They rolled up two $20 bills and three $1 bills along with some napkins and stuffed it inside an envelope, hoping it looked like $500 in cash.
Later that afternoon, the suspect called again, wanting to meet at 2:30 p.m. outside the Downtown Crossing T station, Connors said. Connors agreed that the exchange would take place outside Macy's. Connors alerted Boston police, and two plainclothes detectives headed to Downtown Crossing.
As Doren stepped outside of the station, the suspect came up behind him and asked: ''You're Dave, right? Give me the envelope."
''Where's the truck? Where's the dog? Give me the keys," Doren responded.
They made the exchange. Doren said the suspect didn't even count the money and immediately stuffed the envelope containing $43 into his pocket, told him where the truck was parked, and ran away. ''He was more scared than I was," Doren said.
As the suspect fled, Doren, Connors, Hickey, two uniformed Boston police officers, and the two detectives darted after him. Barney Rivers, a Boston police officer, tackled the suspect on Tremont Street. Rivers suffered a dislocated middle finger and was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital, Procopio said.
The police officers found the vehicle in Chinatown with Dakota safely inside his carrier, wagging his tail and excited when Connors and his girlfriend showed up. After recovering his truck, puppy, and $43, Connors said he has learned his lesson.
''I wouldn't leave Dakota alone ever again, not even for 20 seconds," Connors said.
