Sunnyvale family reunited with lost dog after extortion attempt – 'We're so thankful'
SUNNYVALE – Authorities in Sunnyvale have arrested a man after he found a lost dog Monday night and allegedly tried to extort $1,000 from the dog's owners.
Norm, a 2 year old bearded collie, was able to get out of his yard when a delivery driver left the gate open.
A dog sitter, who did not want to give out her name, had been watching Norm when he escaped.
"I knew things were getting sideways when I heard Zak say, why are you doing this?" said the dog sitter.
After Norm escaped the yard, a person found him at a nearby shopping center and called the number on his tag, but instead of offering to return him, made a disturbing demand.
"He's asking for $1,000 or we'll never see our dog again," the dog sitter went on to say.
The dog sitter called police.
"It was menacing. They were never going to see their dog again unless they paid the money," said Officer Kevin Morton of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety.
Morton was working the night shift on Monday and was assigned to the call. He and his supervisors came up with a plan for a sting operation, have the dog sitter set up a meeting to pay the ransom, where undercover officers would be waiting.
"At first when the person pulled up we didn't initially see Norm, and then the dog sitter told me that she did see Norm, so that was a big sense of relief," Morton told KPIX.
Norm was given back to the dog sitter, and eventually made his way home to his very relieved family.
The department on social media shared a photo of the family with the dog, saying, "We're very glad that Norm is back in his safe and loving home!"
"We're so thankful to the police for what they did and were able to do what they needed to do so quickly," Zak Akin, Norm's owner, told KPIX.
Morton said, "I'm a big dog guy, so definitely a sense of relief. Their daughter is the most happy, so that's the most satisfying."
The suspect is facing two felony charges – extortion and grand theft. If convicted he could face up to a year in prison.
Katie Nielsen contributed reporting.
