Hudson Valley Lost Dog’s Family Warn Others of Heartbreaking Scam

For anyone who has lost a pet, you know how terrible of a feeling it is to be constantly wondering and worrying about your furry friend. They are truly a part of the family, and it is scary when they go missing. The situation can be made even worse when people try to take advantage of your misfortune. Unfortunately, one Hudson Valley family has been experiencing that first hand, and want to warn their community of the dangers of "pet detectives" and not-so-good samaritans.

Hudson Valley Family Bombarded By Scams While Looking for Lost Dog

Heather Greenberg and her family have been on the desperate hunt for their dog, Reese, since December 27th, 2023. The dog was last seen in Lake Katrine. The Greenberg family had the Epic Recovery K9 team create a scent trail that abruptly ended on the northbound side of 9W in Lake Katrine. It is assumed that the dog was most likely picked up rather than still wandering outside. The family are waiting for the return of their beloved Reese, no questions asked, and are even offering a cash reward.

Reese is a 4-year-old Havanese dog with brown/chocolatey fur. She weighs about 15 pounds, is spayed, and is not wearing her collar. Reese does have a Petlink Microchip that can be scanned and identified at an appropriate veterinary hospital. Heather has expressed gratitude toward the community in regard to helping them on their search. "So many strangers went out into the community looking for our dog, people trying to make our social media posts go viral, and just kind-hearted animal lovers wanting to spread the word to look out for our pup."

While they are still on the search for Reese, Heather wanted to use this moment to raise awareness about scammers who have been trying to take advantage of her and her family during their time of distress. Heather said, "I can't tell you the countless texts and emails I've gotten saying 'I found your dog' and then asking me to enter a 6-digit code to an app that could wipe out my cell phone and access my bank information. This was confirmed to be internet phone numbers (I have many NYPD friends that checked it out)."

The scams did not end there. Various scammers had also been using social media to try to trick the family. "There are also fake instagram accounts with gmail addresses for 'pet detectives' that are not real and just try to get you to wire them money. Thank goodness we're savvy and knew this but it's definitely a public service announcement for the community, especially our older community who are more vulnerable, especially if their pet goes missing."

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The Greenberg family would greatly appreciate your help. If you have any information on Reese's whereabouts and well-being, please reach out to them via phone number or email.