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Woman who claimed missing dog as hers on Craigslist charged with theft

Posted at 7:29 PM, Oct 23, 2015
and last updated 2015-10-23 19:29:04-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- Syrah, a Chihuahua mix, is back in the hands of her owner after a tumultuous week.

Tameka Peters says Syrah went missing last week from her South Richmond neighborhood.

"I went through a lot of different emotions," she said. "And more so, [wondered]what am I going to do to get her back?"

As most do in the digital age, she took to Facebook to post the information about her missing dog.

Fate almost got things right: Peters said a Good Samaritan found Syrah and then posted the animal's picture and information on Craigslist.

That's where the story gets "trickier," as Peters said in the telling of it.

Syrah was missing and is now home safe

"I was really fearful, because you know it's one thing when one person has your dog," she said.  "I feel like the chances of getting your dog back is a little higher.  But once something goes from one hand to the next -- the story starts to get tricky."

Peters said a woman posing as the dog's owner responded to the ad posted by the Good Samaritan and wound up with Syrah.

Peters also saw the ad and quickly reached out -- and was smacked with bad news when she asked to come pick her up tomorrow.

She called Davette Jones.

Syrah was missing and is now home safe

"And then she said, 'I don't have your dog,'" Peters said. "'I don't know what you're talking about, and how did you get this phone number.'"

She filed a police report and Detective Ryan Nixon eventually tracked down the woman in question, rescued Syrah, and reunited the two.

He stresses to the public be careful when posting on Craigslist.

"I recommend it being any place where there's cameras, whether it be Walmart or shopping centers," Nixon said. "Somewhere that does have cameras, so, if something were to go wrong, we have that to follow back up on."

Police later arrested 27-year-old Davette Jones. She was charged with grand larceny, but officers would not say if she planned to sell the dog.

Robin Starr with the Richmond SPCA advised pet owners to get their animals micro-chipped, provide their pet's medical records to their local vet, along with pictures and other pertinent information about the animal. And if you post about your missing dog online, Starr suggests leaving out something that will identify your pet.

"So, that if something does contact you trying to get the pet, you can inquire as to whether they're aware of that unique characteristic that may help you determine whether they are truthful or not,” Starr said.

Peters said her dog does have a microchip, but she warned that when the Good Samaritan tried to get him scanned at the vet, the reader was not working properly.

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