A Detroit dog owner was put through terrible distress in the search for his beloved French bulldog who wandered off. Luckily, he managed to find an online posting of his pooch...and now, the cops are involved.
The recent arrest of 24-year-old Malik Deshawn Motley stems from the chaotic scene from April 22. Police in Troy, Mich. said a local woman found a small French bulldog with a brindle-coat in her backyard that day, per the Detroit News. She then went to social media sharing the photo of the pup to see if she could locate the owner.
The woman said she was contacted by Motley, who claimed the dog belonged to him. He even showed photo proof and additional information to substantiate his claim, per the report. Convinced Motley was the true dog dad, the woman returned the dog to him. However, later that day, she got another message from someone else claiming to be the owner...the real one.
The two then tried to track down Motley to discuss the situation, but to no avail. Instead, police discovered that within the short amount of time following the mixup, Motley listed the bulldog for sale online. The two then came up with a clever scheme to try and get the dog back to its true owner.
The report says they reported the incident to police as theft and on the back end, posed as an interested buyer to set up a meeting with Motley. The cops were on standby, waiting for the sale by DMC Children’s Hospital. As soon as Motley pulled up, he was arrested and the Frenchie was given back to its rightful owner.
Motley was charged with larceny of property worth more than $1,000. He’s currently in Troy Police custody with a bond of $15,000.