By Maev Allen
In a cheeky twist of events, a desperate Verulam woman whose dog was stolen last week, was forced to buy her precious pet back - for more than she had originally paid for him.
Tanuja Gengiah, 25, said her seven-year-old German Shepherd, Blitz, went missing from the family property last Tuesday afternoon.
By Wednesday, when Blitz had not come home, the family knew something had happened. The family's domestic servant, who had seen a man at the taxi rank with a dog on a leash that was identical to Blitz, put "two and two together".
Gengiah alerted police, who took down her statement and promised to look out for the dog.
The determined owner took matters into her own hands and went to the taxi rank with a photograph of Blitz, and asked people whether they had seen him.
Many people had seen the dog with a man and Gengiah offered a R500 reward for Blitz's return.
"Within hours a network had been set up. On Thursday afternoon a man arrived at my mother's shop and said he had Blitz. He said he had bought Blitz for R300, and would sell him back to us for the same price."
"We didn't know if that was true, but we were prepared to pay to have Blitz home again. We didn't ask many questions, we were so happy to have him back, and he was delighted too," said a relieved Gengiah.
Chief Inspector at the Durban and Coastal SPCA, Jacqui Dewar, said the selling of stolen animals was not uncommon.
Said Dewar. "We are often told about people who are selling puppies on the side of the road. In these cases, the seller has to show proof of ownership. If they can't produce that, or are committing any offence under the Animal Cruelty Prevention Act, such as not feeding the animal, then we can act."