A woman is aiming to raise money for the local charity that rescued her pet after she was held ransom by a person who claimed to have taken her missing dog – and has been offered a helping hand by a Salford venue.
Linda Tonge is aiming to raise £750 for Greater Manchester Lost Dog Search and Rescue, which saved her from being scammed out of £2000 after her dog disappeared.
Linda’s 12-year-old Yorkshire terrier, Lulu, went missing from her home in Tyldesley, near Boothstown, in 2022 and went missing for two nights.
During this uncertain and frightening period, Linda was contacted by a man who claimed to have abducted Lulu and was demanding £2000 for her safe return.
Linda remembers feeling that the only way she could be reunited with her pet was to cooperate with the criminal claiming to have taken her dog. She explained that the person was a scammer who had used details she posted online to convince her that a dognapping had taken place.
She said: “I honestly believed he had my dog – I really did. He described her after getting the information about Lulu’s appearance from my social media posts and wanted £2000 off me.”
The perpetrator told Linda that she would never see Lulu again if she contacted the police. Thankfully, before she paid the money, he was caught by the police.
“He’s in prison now. They prosecuted him because he tried to scam about 18 people,” she highlighted.
Linda’s story reached many in the community and the nation, bringing her and Lulu to BBC Breakfast and Jeremy Vine. Linda was able to tell her traumatic story and raise awareness about the risks of scammers, who prey on vulnerable people missing their pets to make quick cash.
She said: “ITV wanted us on This Morning, but I didn’t want to go to London for that because Lulu was 12 at the time.
“I think the reason why people appreciate the story was that there was a happy ending. It was also great to be able to warn people”.
The Greater Manchester Lost Dog Search and Rescue team helped find Lulu and has worked to reunite families across Salford with their lost pets. They are run by a team of dedicated volunteers and have been struggling to make ends meet.
In an effort to raise funds for the charity that saved Lulu, Linda will be hosting a Soul and Motown event on 28th November in the Boothstown British Legion to fundraise for the charity that helped rescue her dog.
The owners of the venue kindly let Linda hire the British Legion for the night for free, and the DJ, Trevor, is not charging for his time either.
Every £5 that they take on the door will be going to the charity. Linda aims to raise around £750 and will be organising a raffle to raise more.
More information about the charity can be found here.
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