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Woman accused of kidnapping cat in attempt to get her dog back
Linda Urioste admitted to police that she had the cat and refused to give it back unless the owners gave her dog back. She was arrested and charged with theft and extortion. (WPBF.com)
July 3, 2008 | Permalink
Comments
Sounds like Animal Control picked up the wrong animal.
Posted by: KDP | Jul 3, 2008 6:21:23 AM
Urioste is now in a human shelter.
Posted by: twerp | Jul 3, 2008 6:26:05 AM
While I think stealing the cat and holding it for ransom was stupid, I really hate what the people did here -
"Hollar said that she and her husband were considering returning the dog until they met with Urioste to discuss the situation."
Every person I've ever met who used excuses like this wasn't planning on doing it anyway.
My favorite of all time was "I found their wallet and was going to give it to them with their money in it but they didn't immediately offer me a reward when I called them so I just took the money and threw the wallet away."
I worked with that person, and I can tell you I didn't trust them at all.
Posted by: David | Jul 3, 2008 6:28:54 AM
David - They probably weren't even legally obligated to give the dog back, but if I adopted a dog and someone showed up at my house ranting and raving telling me it was their dog I wouldn't give it to them either.
Posted by: G-Man | Jul 3, 2008 6:40:07 AM
Ok...if I was in the same situation...I would also meet with the previous owners to evaluate if the dog was safe and happy in their environment...if my family was treated rudely and they acted like jerks I would keep the dog too. That woman is a total psycho. Sad thing is...now that family needs to be scared...whats next? Their kids? Flat tires?....daily harrassment?? Frightening...
Lesson of the day...dont invite some stranger to your home...meet them in a neutral location first!
Posted by: cherie | Jul 3, 2008 6:48:50 AM
wouldnt that have been catnapping?
Posted by: AngrySockMonkey | Jul 3, 2008 6:51:48 AM
The lady is an asshat.
Posted by: Dick C. Normas | Jul 3, 2008 6:57:54 AM
Something similar happened to my sister and I. I was at my sister's house when it was being renovated and in the front yard hovering in the bushes was a poor dog.
Both my sister and I are avid animal people so she took the dog in. Poor thing had scars around its neck, it was underfed; you could count the ribs. Princess (we named her that) looked liked she has really worked hard to break that chain wherever she was tethered, she was dragging about 3 or 4 feet of chain with her.
My sister took Princess to the Vet the next day, got her looked at, wormed, etc. She wasn't fixed but she had to put on weight and get healthy first, then she got fixed.
A year later; sister's house is done, she's moved in with both her dogs, Roxie and Princess. A few months later some jack ass knocks on her door, and starts screaming at her through the screen door that she stole his dog, and demanded it back. My sister ended up calling the police because he was such a prick.
Actually it was very easy to prove it wasn't his dog.
He claimed the dog never had a litter, the vet said she had at least one. He claimed that his dog was missing for 6 months, my sister was able to prove she had the dog for over a year using vet records.
Why do people have to be such dip sticks???
Posted by: Rat | Jul 3, 2008 6:58:51 AM
KILL THE DAMN CATS
Posted by: | Jul 3, 2008 7:12:29 AM
In a neighborhood I used to live in there was ad hoc policy for "found" dogs. You tie the dog up in the front yard (in shade with water). Usually the owner will show up in a few hours. If the owner didn't then you took the dog into the humane society the next day.
This worked surprising well and I got to be quite good friends with the family of "Sunshine" a golden retriever who made his first escape as a puppy while DAD was supposed to be looking after him. Saved his butt I'll tell ya.
Posted by: nellagain | Jul 3, 2008 7:20:17 AM
There have been plenty of times when I wanted to be a vigilanty and take a dog from someone that was treating it horribly. There was a dog I used to drive by on a daily basis that was about a mile from my house. It was tied to a tree in the people's front yard. It had a dog house but the dog looked miserable. You never saw anyone with it, as time went by it got thinner and thinner...I finally stopped and knocked on the door one day claiming I was with the local shelter...the dog had died the night before. The owner claimed it died because it had a case of worms they couldn't get rid of. Ever since that day I've promised myself if I see a similar situation I'll act more quickly. Unfortunately in the county I live in, our humane society doesn't have the resources to go on most of the calls they receive.
Posted by: cherie | Jul 3, 2008 7:57:27 AM
Yesterday, when I was going to go to the store, I opened the garage door and saw a baby racoon lying next to my car.
I put it in a box and took it to the humane society and told them to see that it lives.
I'm one of those terrible people who 'murders" aminals for food.
If someone came to me within a reasonable time and was sincere about my possibly having their pet, I'd give it back if they were truly aminals people.
This beyatch deserves to be neutered.
And, to the punk who said "KILL THE DAMN CATS",
come here and I'll give you a few very physical lessons about real men who like aminals.
Posted by: A.V. | Jul 3, 2008 8:24:58 AM
I agree with David in that I don't think these people had any intention, ever, of giving the dog back. The lady sounds like a real jerk though, and possibly nutty. Who's first thought is that their animal was stolen so why bother checking the shelters??
Posted by: Reno | Jul 3, 2008 8:35:33 AM
Her response is rational considering that her dog was given away, and even after being notified of the mistake, the people refused to give it back.
She was mad about the situation and not the people, unfortunately, the people were the one's that recieved the brunt of her frustration over this situation. She should apologize for being ill-tempered. If only she has used that energy to ensure the dog's security.
And where are the dog catchers during all this? Why didn't they intervene and take the dog back - it was their mistake to correct.
The dog belongs to the lady, not the adoptees.
If all it took was a little irrational behavior for us to lose our property, we would all be destitute.
Posted by: JB | Jul 3, 2008 9:02:39 AM
JB, I agree that the shelter was as fault, but how are the adoptive family at fault? When you adopt a dog, it doesn't say, "You get to keep the dog until the fruitcake who claims to have had the dog previously shows up and demands his or her property back".
Didn't she (the 'original owner') have a tag on the dog with her name and phone number?
(apparently not)
Didn't the dog have a microchip?
(apparently not)
Didn't she go to the shelter in a timely manner?
(apparently not)
It seems to me like she didn't have any major stake in the dog in the first place.
Posted by: Paul | Jul 3, 2008 9:16:16 AM
JB, I disagree. The animal sat in a shelter for 5 days before it was put up for adoption. I used to volunteer at an area shelter and can tell you that a simple ID tag, five dollars at any pet store, is all you need to insure that your animal is returned. If the animal didn't have that, or an owner who at least called around to see if the dog was there, then what right does she have to try and claim it a month later after it's been to the vet and someone else has paid to feed it?
Posted by: Nicole | Jul 3, 2008 9:21:03 AM
You have my dog, so I'll take your cat!
So, what do you think of that!
This lady has the social skills & mentality of a 3 year old. I can see her laying on the ground, screaming & kicking: "GIMME MY DOG!"
Sign her up for Anger Management, yesterday!
Posted by: Anna | Jul 3, 2008 9:57:14 AM
Green Acers Didn't Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor move there in the mid 60s from N.Y. ?
It's near Hooterville.
Things haven't changed much.
Posted by: | Jul 3, 2008 6:33:22 PM
Green Acres never changes, especially in re-runs.
Posted by: Anna | Jul 3, 2008 7:01:23 PM
David and JB, I'm with you. If anyone had my pet(which happens to be a cat) after 5 days, I would go out of my mind, especially if my husband accidentally killed my granddaughter. I would have returned the lost dog right away, no questions asked, UNLESS Animal Control had reported signs of abuse.
Just because she's crazy doesn't mean she can't take care of her dog. Pets can be wonderfully cared for by crazy people, especially people who are not so successful with humans.
I do feel very sorry for the cat, but as long as she caused no physical harm to her (maybe she didn't really put her in a cage--saying this could have been for effect), it is nearly understandable under the circumstances.
Back to the crazy part. This lady may have been fully overwhelmed by losing her dog and not been aware of the resources for pet retrieval in her community. Did she eventually get her dog back? If so, she'll probably better prepare herself for the possibility of losing her dog again.
Posted by: Ann Margaret | Jul 4, 2008 6:55:20 AM
I would kick anyones @$$ that stole/kidnapped my cat!
She's such a pleasure to come home to and even has some dog tendancies.
Posted by: Hard~Wooden~Cue | Jul 4, 2008 9:09:31 AM
"But she was very rude and yelled at us and treated us really not very nice," . . . OKaaaay . . . Get real, you have the ladies dog, what do you expect, just be thankful the nut case didn't lock you up in the crate, cage, or whatever.
Posted by: Topcat | Jul 5, 2008 10:47:52 AM
