Family Searches for Lost Pet, Finds Scam Instead

News9.com

NEWS 9's Consumer Watch Team discovered a company charging to help desperate pet owners find their lost family members.

Every day, dogs get loose, run away and wind up at the city pound.

Pet owner Gary Monholland was hoping he'd find his lost dog, Little Bush.

"I went to the dog pound and....they said they didn't have him," Monholland said. "I didn't see him and that broke my heart."

On February 14, Little Bush, a poodle named after the fact that he was born in Texas, went outside but he never came back in.

"It's hard, it's hard," Monholland said. "I just want him back. I'd do anything to get him back. I'd give them my whole check I get the third, if they just bring him back."

Monholland and his wife Carol took out an ad in the local paper and got an interesting response from it.

A company called Petfinders Alert based out of Las Vegas called the Monhollands.

According to the company's Web site, they run a "Nationwide Search and Alert Service" and have been doing it for the past 20 years.

Carol Monholland called the Consumer Watch Team.

The company calls all the neighbors to let them know the dog is missing and they charge a fee based on how many blocks they call.

For 10 blocks, they charge $60, for 20 blocks, they charge $80, and for 50 blocks, they charge $140.

The Monhollands and the team paid for the $10 option.

"I hope that does it," Carol Monholland said. "It's the last chance right here."

The company followed through with their charge on the credit card, and one week after they were supposed to make the calls, the team called the company back just to make sure.

Watch the phone confrontation with Petfinder's owner.

"We still have a few we have to do because they weren't home or didn't have a machine or whatever," the company's owner said.

He said he'd call the Monhollands the next day with an update.

The call never came, so the team went out to the neighborhood to see how many of their neighbors had been notified. Not one person in the area said they were called by Petfinders Alert.

The team also left flyers at dozens of more homes, asking them to call if they hear from the company.

Almost three weeks later, no one has responded.

He was able to name off 10 streets he claimed his staff called, five of which the team walked.

He did call back, leaving a message saying he had the proof, but several attempts to contact him were not returned.

In the meantime, the Monhollands are hopeful someone else will find Little Bush.

"Please bring him back," Gary Monhollands said. "That's my baby and I want him back."

Little Bush was last seen near SW 58 and Western Avenue in Oklahoma City.

Petfinders Alert has a record of a few other complaints across the country.

A refund has been made back to the credit card used for the Petfinder service.

The company mentioned in this story is not the same company as Petfinder.com, a nonprofit that helps adopt out shelter animals.