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Subscribe to RSSA couple in Pennsylvania is facing criminal charges for selling their neighbor’s lost puppy on Craigslist instead of returning it, according to police.
Police in Leechburg, Pa., said two dogs, a Rottweiler and a golden retriever mix, wandered onto the property of Scott Duff, 41, and Roxanne Duff, 38, on September 3.
After discovering the animals, police say, Roxanne Duff left a phone message for police saying she was unsure what to do with them.
Leechburg Police Officer Christopher Laird returned Roxanne Duff’s message, recommending that she contact either an animal shelter or a local dog kennel, according to a police report. He told her he would contact her if they find dogs’ owner. During that call, Roxanne Duff allegedly told Laird that the Rottweiler puppy had run away since her initial report.
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Later in the evening, Laird received a call from the dogs’ owner, Shawn Lerch, who said Duff had returned his golden retriever but not the Rottweiler. Lerch said he believed his dog was still in the area and suspected the Duffs were keeping him, despite what he had been told.
When Laird knocked on his neighbor's door, Scott Duff answered and allegedly denied having the puppy. The next day, Lerch called police again, saying he believed the dog was still at the Duffs' house, according to the report.
This time, police chief Michael Diebold went to the Duffs' home, where he found the couple's five-year-old son and his babysitter. According to the police report, the child said, “his mommy had given the dog to a woman from the Internet."
Diebold contacted Scott Duff again and told him what his child had said. Duff told him he had no knowledge of this and said he only knew that the puppy had escaped from his yard. A short time later, Duff called police back and allegedly admitted that his wife had placed an ad and sold the dog on Craigslist for $50.
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After police located the woman who bought the Rottweiler, who said she was unaware of the theft. Roxanne Duff went to Pittsburgh, where the woman lived, to retrieve the dog, and it was returned to Lerch.
Police charged the Duffs last week with not making a reasonable effort to return lost property, two counts of conspiracy and false reporting.
The couple is due in court for a preliminary hearing on October 31.
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Not being a dog owner, I don't have empathy for the dog owner, and I will sell someones dog from under neath them if that dog keeps barking all the time.
Nice neighbors, out of the mouth of babes.
"Later in the evening, Laird received a call from the dogs’ owner, Shawn Lerch, who said Duff had returned his golden retriever but not the Rottweiler."
These "neighbors" knew who owned the dogs. They are total scumbags and deserve to pay for their crime. Awesome role models for their five-year-old. We'll likely be reading similar stories about him in a few years.
Scott and Roxanne have been SCUMBAGS since high school.
Thanks for sharing the personal info on this story. I knew from the lack of details that the next-door neighbors knew where the dog lived. The dog owners should keep their dogs in their yard. These scumbags will probably take out their hatred on the dogs.
I have 7 dogs. Some from rescue shelters and some I found. When I find a dog, I put an ad in the paper and also contact the animal shelter that I have found a dog and give them a description so the owner can contact me for its return. If no answer in three days I take the dog to the vet for complete physical and shots. They also scan for a chip. Two of the dogs had heart worms so I paid $800 each to have them well again. All are fixed. I have 3/4 acre fenced back yard for them. They sleep and eat on my enclosed porch with a pet door. They have blankets, a heater and a/c. I wish I was one of my dogs. They range from a 3 legged dachshund to a yellow lab mix.
You sound like a very kind and careing man.Bless you,if we had more people like you,this world would be a much better place to live for us humans as well as our beloved pets.
Lawrence Grossman,
We sound a lot alike sir, I only have 3 dogs but they have all the room they'll ever need on my 5 acres and they also enjoy a pet door, fenced yard and still go next door to visit the neighbors but I have excellent neighbors that love dogs as much as I do so I am lucky I guess.
Thanks for doing what your doing too, we indeed do need more like you sir. Give your pooches a little rub from me, thanks.
Lawrence -
You have my admiration and respect, sir.
I have always said that if I am to be reincarnated, I would like to come back as one of my dogs . . . others have said the same.
Geez what a great idea, never thought about selling my neighbors dog... next time it barks all night long, Im setting up a craigslist ad for it!!! LOL
nlg: ever thought there may be a reason your neigbor's dog barks all night long? Sell your neighbors instead, they sound like awful people.
We all need all the kindness and generous acts that we can possibly give to ourselves and others and for a couple to behave like this is truly sadenning. they are teaching their child to lie and steal. to do something like this cold and cruel and I hope this couple gets some jail time plus a hefty fine and an apoligy to the neighbor and their son for being such lousy people.
Scott and Roxanne are such TOOLS. They've been a-holes since high school and nothing has changed. They live by ripping off other people and taking advantage of anyone who has the misfortune to cross their paths.
Scott and Roxanne are IDIOTs, and they always have been.
The stupidity of people never ceases to amaze me.
What a great way to get rid of the troublesome dog next door. So many people let their pets be a neighborhood nuisance. Could they do it with unruly neighbor children too?
Who knew it was a crime to NOT make an effort to find the owner of an animal that comes into one's yard.
If you live next door to the dogs described in this article, you know where they live. If they got loose and came into your yard, not only do you know where they live, but it has probably happened before where they have been loose and unattended. These stories tend to leave out the parts that makes them less enticing. I'll bet they sold the dog that barked all the time because it was annoying. Shame on them, but they didn't count on the baby having a big mouth.
Okay, so I am a dog lover and owner (well I love my dog and some of my family members' dogs and don't care about anyone else's nor do I usually like them for that matter) and this couple seems like "real winners", but I still find this whole thing pretty comical. Yup, the title still makes me chuckle.
If anything, I wish I would have thought of doing that years ago! The next time my neighbors' dog decides to dig holes and crap all over my yard, I might just put the dog on Craigslist for free! Because they just let the thing roam all around the neighborhood with no collar all the time and apparently throwing the dog's crap back into their yard and mentioning his antics to them is not getting through their thick skulls!
I have no sympathy for either party involved, I think they are both at fault in this case because the owners did not pay any attention to their dogs and neglected to collar, tag, and chip them but since the couple who sold the dog did not have any prior grievances with the dogs or owners, and did it solely for their own profit, they too share the fault.
Megan: Your post makes me chuckle....you're not a dog lover! Do you think it's possible that your neighbor's dog is hungry, thirsty, being eaten alive by bugs, hot or cold, out in the rain & lightning, scared, shall I go on? Obviously, the owners don't care about so they shouldn't have it... You should let animal control know that the dog is being neglected.
The neighbor's dog is not malnourished or neglected or mistreated in any way besides the fact that they don't keep it contained to their own yard. If they had mistreated the dog, I would have been the first to call animal control on them. The dog roams free in a city neighborhood and our neighbors could care less, it's almost like they believe they have a right to let the dog wander and it is incredibly irritating!
It's not like its a terrible dog, it's a larger mixed breed/mutt that is fairly friendly and just goes around doing the things all dogs do, but it does like to bark a lot more than my dog or any of the other neighbors' dogs. I just don't think they ever really spent any time training it or worked with it much. Absolutely nothing like my 1-1/2 year old pure bred German Shepard who knows a dozen of her commands in both English and German anyway. :)
You, Megan, are a heartless beyotch!
How am I heartless? The fact that it really irritates me that my neighbors suck as dog owners since they seemed to jump into the role without any prior experience, knowledge or research means I care about the dog. Maybe if my next door neighbors had some kind of respect for others' property and were actually friendly the day we went over to introduce ourselves when we moved in almost 3 years ago or any day since for that matter, it wouldn't be quite so bad and I would be willing to help them train the dog, but until they are nice and respectful to us in return, that is not going to happen.
There is absolutely nothing in the article that says the dogs were without tags or microchips. Besides, the jerk neighbors would have no way of scanning the dogs for chips. Clearly the neighbors have no sense of the word neighbor nor are they worthy of the same air I breathe.
What a lovely example to set.
Talk about class A dirt bags.
And I hope someone has called child protective services in that jurisdiction and mechanisms are in place to remove the couple's child from their custody . . . . .
What a couple of @!$%#s. And there are a few on this vine, too.
What the sam hill is this doing on national news??? I can see it on a police blotter in a small town newspaper, but that's it.
Kind of surprised the neighbors that sold the dog on Craiglist haven't sold their kid for $50 bucks.
I must say...Doggone good story!!!!
Too many pet owners that are not taking responsibility for their dogs, in my opinion. These people acted like scum, but it all started with the dogs getting loose in the first place. If you own dogs, keep them contained like the law says, and you won't be going through situations like this. All this crap about " I don't know how they got Loose" doesn't cut it with me. Your animals are your responsibility. They shouldn't be out in traffic or pooping in other peoples' yards. Keep them on leashes, and they won't get into trouble, and neighborhood monsters won't get their hands on them. If you leave them unattended in your yard, the only thing that will be an issue is your dogs barking their fool heads off and thieves actually stealing them. If you can't handle the full responsibility of a dog for the full lifetime of that dog, don't get one. I hardly ever hear a story like this when the incident was the first and only time the dog ever got loose or only time the dog had an issue with neighbors.
I think this story shows the scumbags that live among us!!
I wouldn't put anything past someone who would sell their neighbor's dog.
I wouldn't let them near my children either....
committing a crime in front of a child is never a good idea, here is case in point.
Get your pet microchipped . That way there is never a doubt who is the legal owner should the dog be lost or stolen- or, in this case sold by an unscrupulous neighbor. Take CARE of your pets.
Seriously? I don't care if the puppy did get out it was not theirs to sell! How dare you decieve this man and say they have no seen his dog! Mister you need to move.
These people are scum! I used to have absolute trash for neighbors (who are druggies) and they stole my Lhasa Apso right out of my backyard one night and dumped him off at an elementary school about 8 miles away. My dog would never go that far on his own because he is lazy. I got lucky that a nice couple found him and contacted me!
People like the ones in the article are the scum of the earth.
Similar situation happened to me in April. I was in Vegas visiting my grandkids and hurried home early because I new my cat was going to be having her kittens soon. I had left her in the care of my nephew while I was gone; well he let her out (to my dismay), did not tell me (yeah I was a fool to trusted in him) and upon my return I immediately went to my neighbor's house (Michelle Luceti at 11660 Garnet Way, #1, Aubun, CA) because she had cats and had previously paid a lot of attention to this cat (unbeknownst to me she had a cat that looked exactly like mine)and I asked if she had seen my cat, she wouldn't look me in the eye and was talking really fast and telling me that "oh she is probably down at the park having her babies and when spring comes she will probably come back to you". I thought her behavior was odd, but what could I do? I used to live in her same building but now I was two buildings down. On my way back to mybuilding I thought to myself she has my cat! But I couldn't prove it obviously. For a whole month I could not sleep worring about my Muffin and I was so worried that she was trying to feed her little babies all on her own outside somewhere. It was horrible. Then about a month later, her daughter needed a place to stay and her mom had kicked her out so I said she could stay with me. She saw and heard and witnessed how much I missed my Muffin and how worried I was about her; I was calling shelters daily, going to them, posting on lost and found, everything, but it was not until about another couple of weeks after she saw me like this, that she ne day said "Lauri I know who took your cat." Instantly I knew it was her mother and she confirmed it. I immediately told her to get her mom on the phone and first thing she says is "so what is going on?" And I said "you know exactly what is going on; you stole my cat and you lied to me". She said it was her cat now because she had her for over a month; that she had wandered over to her property and took her in; NOT TRUE; her daughter witnessed her take my cat from my own yard!". Again, lying. I demanded that she immediately return the cat (and now her kittens too - three of them) and see again said "they" belonged to her now; that she was in Napa and her friend was taking care of them in Lincoln while she was gone. I told her "Either you have her bring the cats back to me or I was calling the police to go pick them up." She said "go ahead, you abandoned her and after thirty days, she has possession." Having worked in the legal field for many years I told her "no you are wrong; that only applies when you do not know who a cat belongs too; whereas in my case, she knew the cat (and her kittens) belonged to me and she stole them." I called the police, they came out; they saw the pictures and videos I had on my phone of my cat, he called Michelle Luceti (the "cat thief") and told her that she better have her friend bring the cat & kittens back to me that same day; which she did; however, she only brought two of the kittens and said that one of them had died of respiratory failure and I instantly knew that was another lie, particularly since Michelle Luceti's daughter told me that the friends son had claimed the orange kitten for his own. But again what could I do? I could not prove the kitten had died. Shortly thereafter, Michelle Luceti's daughter told me the son had posted a picture of the orange kitten on his Facebook and she texted him and told him "I knew you had the kitten and it did not die." She (Michelle Luceti's daughter) told me that he blocked her from Facebook and she could no longer text him (he never even replied to her - very telling - guilty as charged obviously)and so I sent a message to Michelle Luceti and her friend's son and told him I wanted the kitten back or I would have the police come out and word got back to Michelle Luceti and then her daughter told me that they were claiming that kitten had died and that his girlfriend bought him the new orange kitten and the girlfriend was very upset and I asked for paperwork showing that she did in fact buy the cat from somewhere else and it just happened to look exactly like the kitten that I never got to meet due to the theft and of course instantly I knew they were again "lying" and they never did produce any documentation re buying an orange kitten and so I know they still have her but there is nothing I can do because I called the police again and they said there was nothing that they could do; that they could not prove one way or another so to just let it go; and they even told me they realized I had a right to be angry, but that I had already vocalized my anger toward Michelle Luceti verbally and not to do anything further. Can you believe that? (Placer County folks). So I then contacted Animal Control and anyone else I could think of to file a complaint and they said they don't handle that; to call the police. So I did get my Muffin back and now because I was denied the right to care for my cat during her difficult birthing process and that was taken away from me, and all the sleepless nights worrying about her, I was told to just "let it go". I was so angry and frustrated. Because all this happened, I chose to keep the the kittens and so now I have four cats, I already had Coal and got Muffin back and I could not let the kittens go to anyone else after what happened. They are my babies and I love them all dearly. I am retired and they are the world to me. I still think often of the orange one I never got to mee and just hope and pray they are taking proper care of him. I do believe in Karma and what is kind of funny is that I told Michelle Luceti to watch out because there is a cat thief in town (her) and she better keep her cats indoors. She took that as I would do back to her what she had done to me which is something I would never ever do, not to my worst enemy. I would never steal someone's cat even it looked like one I had lost. She knew it belonged to me and she even threatened her own daughter not to tell me that she had my cat and kittens, or she would never speak to her again. Yeah, mother of the year award, right? Karma in action. Her daughter told me she is now afraid to let her cats outdoors. I was and am still very disappointed in first of all my nephew who I had specically told that it was vitally important not to let her out while I was out of town visiting my brand new grandson, then Michelle Luceti took her (because she wanted to replace the cat she lost and birth the kittens - she previously worked in rescue and raised huskies so she was all about being the queen of animals and birthing so that is what it was all about. Also disappointed in the local police and just what happened overall and never getting to even meet the orange kitten and if it did indeed die, maybe I could have prevented that since I used to work at a veterinary hospital as an assistant and have healed many sick kittens/cats. God bless everyone. I just wanted to share "my" story because this one definitely hit close to home, but I am proud of this particular police department doing all they could and not just telling the owners to "let it go."
This story is amazing. Most police forces would have ignored the puppy crimes and said they supposedly so busy with serious crimes they can't do squat. Meanwhile thank you very much for your tax payments keeping them fat and happy. They won't even investigage bikes thefts worth thousands, if you want a $50 puppy returned you would be required to go vigilante.
JUST:
I think it's a matter of the bigger the city the bigger the problems. Where do ya' live?
I'm in San Diego, thinking about returning to Iowa. Paradise back to Siberia for this very reason. :)
@Tom,
U got out!!!! Congrats! U got yourself out, don't sabotage yourself by coming back.
I don't know how long you've been in San Diego but it still sucks here.
♪♫Some days I feel like a beat-up Ford,
I turn the engine but the engine doesn't turn.
Whores & beer & cigarettes,
This town is always such a mess.
Most days I'd really like 2 watch it BURN!♪♫
LOL,LOL,LOL.....thanx for the reminder.
I'm from Dubuque.....what part are you from.