Owners warn others after losing $200 in missing pet scam

JACKSON, Tenn. — Two community members are warning other pet owners of scammers after they lost $200 while looking for their pup.

Mark Benton and Scott Hall have been searching for Pattycake since Christmas day. That search also opened the door for scammers to take advantage of their desire to bring their beloved pet home.

Pattycake is a 7-year-old Shih-Tzu that went missing on Christmas day.

She had gotten out of a backyard in the LANA neighborhood while visiting during the holidays.

Mark Benton and Scott Hall are pattycake’s owners and said they have also been joined by neighbors in searching the area where she went missing. However, during the process of looking for their dog, Benton and Hall said they have been scammed.

Hall said he was contacted at 5 a.m. the day after Christmas with photos of pattycake in a dog crate. At the time, he did not realize it was photoshopped.

Benton said he went to the police and he even went as far as complying to the scammer to bring his dog home.

“He first wanted it to PayPal and kept giving different PayPal accounts and I was willing to give it, but it didn’t happen. The scammer said ‘Well go to Walmart and get two Xbox cards that are worth $200 and I did,” said Benton.

He also said that the scammer wanted pictures of the cards and more reward money. At that point, he realized it was a scam.

Therefore, Benton and Hall want to warn other pet parents of being scammed during a search for lost pets.

According to the Better Business Bureau, limiting the information about your pet in social media posts, asking for a current picture, watching for false phone numbers, and calling the police can help limit your exposure to pet scams.

At the end of the day, Pattycake’s owners want her back and mourn her loss.

“I just want her back and I will know it’s her when I see her. She will know it’s me as well,” said Hall.

“I just want her back. We need her back. Our home is broken without her,” said Benton.

Pattycake is also microchipped, so she is able to be identified at any veterinarian’s office and her owners are offering a $2,000 reward for her return.

If you have any information regarding where Pattycake may be please call 901-219-7836.

For more information on scams or tips to avoid being scammed, contact the Better Business Bureau.

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