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COCOA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A man accused of running off with two toy poodles without fully paying for them was busted after trying to sell the puppies on Craigslist, according to Daytona Beach Police.
The irony is, the man initially responded to a Craigslist ad posted by the woman from whom he’s accused of stealing the dogs.
Catherine Ash, of Cocoa, drove to Daytona Beach on December 1 to meet with Lethario Haddocks, according to a police report.
Ash told Fox 35 she and Haddocks had previously agreed that he would pay her $800 for two toy poodle puppies.
Ash said Haddocks handed her $150 and took off running.
“It’s not so much about the money, but I was nervous since it had gone down like that, that possibly there [were] some sketchy things that were going on with the puppies after the fact,” Ash said.
About a week later, she was back on Craigslist when she saw two ads for toy poodle puppies.
The dogs in the photos looked like her dogs.
“My husband contacted the phone number on one of the ads and it was the same voicemail that had been on the guy’s previous phone, even though the number had changed,” Ash said.
According to the police report, officers called the phone number, too, and set up a meeting with Haddocks.
Officers say he ran when an officer approached him, but police eventually tracked him down and found one of Ash’s female puppies in Haddock’s backpack.
Haddock’s was arrested and charged with theft, resisting an officer and animal cruelty.
“I’m not sure how they handled her when they had her, but it seemed like she was nervous to interact,” Ash said.
The puppy recovered by police is doing fine now. Ash and her family plan to keep her. The other dog is still missing.
Ash hopes because she shared her story, someone will spot the dog that hasn’t been returned to her.
She also hopes that her story prompts others to take precautions when they meet up with a stranger.
“I was victimized and I was very unintelligent in the way I handled [the sale]," she said. "But the fact that he went back on Craigslist and tried to sell [the dogs] a week later… I just don’t even have words."