Family's dog kidnapped for ransom money

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A Buffalo family's Thanksgiving was turned upside-down when their beloved dog was stolen from their yard.

Nora Lancoff thought her dog Polly was in the yard on West Ferry Thursday afternoon, when a mysterious man called.

"Someone said, 'We have your dog, we found the dog, we paid $200 for it and that we would like you to buy the dog from us,'" Lancoff recalled.

He hung up before making any arrangements to meet with her. The family distributed signs with a picture of their 4-year-old Shitzhu named "Polly."

Then on Friday a woman called saying she had the dog and asked if there was a reward. She suggested meeting at a nearby McDonald's but never showed. News 4 found out about the story and went to interview Lancoff.

About an hour later, the woman called back and arranged to bring the dog to the corner of Breckenridge and West Avenue. There, just before dark, Lancoff saw a teen-aged boy holding her dog in his jacket.

"He seemed as scared as I seemed to get my dog back. He said he had found the dog and I thanked him very much," Lancoff said.

She gave him a $40 reward, and brought Polly home.

Lancoff said, "She's quieter than normal but she seems happy to be home. She's eaten and she's slept."

Polly is the third dog on that block of West Ferry to be stolen. Earlier this year, a family got a ransom call and paid money to get their dog back. And five years ago another neighbor had a Shitzu stolen that wasn't found for six months.

It was very frightening for Lancoff and her family, but she only had this to say to the captors:

"Thank you for returning my dog. I, really...You made my Thanksgiving after all."

A police report was filed when the dog was missing, but no charges were filed against the teen-aged boy because it's difficult to prove how he ended up with the dog.