A tipster who admitted to lying about the whereabouts of a Maple Ridge family’s missing dog may face charges from the BC SPCA.
“He’s indicated to one of our officers that it was a joke,” said Shawn Eccles of the BC SPCA Cruelty Investigations unit.
After Lager had been missing for three weeks, a tipster contacted owner Kelsi Padula saying the seven-year-old pit bull-mastiff was being abused in a local drug house. He even sent her pictures of a similar-looking dog, but would never offer up an address, forcing Padula into a game of cat-and-mouse.
“It broke my heart to think that… he knew I was never going to get my dog back,” said Padula.
SPCA investigators believe the tipster sent pictures of his own dog as part of the elaborate hoax.
“He could potentially be charged with obstruction for misleading and providing false information to our officers,” said Eccles.
WATCH: Missing dog mystery
Eccles added not only did the man waste valuable time that could have been better used searching for Lager, it also tied up the SPCA’s limited investigation resources.
All the information gathered by the SPCA is being passed along to the RCMP. Police say there is an active investigation into whether attempted extortion charges should be laid.
Petsearchers Canada owner Al Maclellan says he’s run into plenty of cases where fraudulent tipsters are looking to scam vulnerable owners or play a sick joke on them.
“It’s stressful enough losing a pet and having someone torture you mentally in regards to it, it’s not necessary,” said Maclellan.
Maclellan says in one case, a tipster replied to a missing pet ad with a dog squealing in the background. He says the caller threatened to hurt his client’s pet if money wasn’t sent. The client had actually found his dog earlier that day.
“There are some cruel people out there,” said Maclellan.
Padula said this level of cruelty needs to have consequences.
“I don’t want him to get away with this, I want him to be an example that people can’t just mess with people’s emotions,” she said.
Padula said it makes her sick to think all the time she spent searching and putting up posters based on false information.
Despite everything she’s been through, Padula said her focus is still on finding her beloved pet.
“I just know he’s out there.”