Grieving Pet Owner From Howard County Warns Others About Online Animal Scams

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A pet lover from Howard County warns others about online scammers selling popular breeds so that their hopes of having a loyal, loving companion aren't crushed like hers were.

Sally Stunkel's beloved Maine Coon cat died a year ago. She missed her cat dearly, so she searched for another Maine Coon she could bring home. She turned to Facebook and found someone selling that popular breed. So she made a deal to buy the cat for $800. Stunkel told WBAL that she made a down payment on Venmo for $400 but the seller told her the payment didn't go through.

"It didn't go to the right one as she said. So, she said, 'There is another way to do this: gift cards.' There went the red lights. But love makes us do the stupid," she said.

So Stunkel bought a gift card and the seller told her to text the front and back numbers of the card. But then the seller made more demands.

"She said, 'We can't transport the cat until you buy or rent a carrier for the kitty. Another $800.' I said, 'I wasn't told that,' but I went ahead and did it," Stunkel said.

Then the seller asked for another $1,500 for insurance and told Stunkel she could be charged with abandoning a pet if she didn't pay it.

"The next day, they said, 'We need one more thing. We need $2,000 from customs.' They were coming from Delaware. At that point, OK, stupid, stupid, stupid. Then I stopped," Stunkel said.

When WBAL contacted the Better Business Bureau, they confirmed that this scam is a "two for one" where the victim pays for a pet they never get then ends up paying the scammer more than once for different reasons. Pet lovers instead should meet a seller in person in a safe setting to see the pet.

"I'm looking at it as a very expensive lesson in my life. So, I'm trying to be philosophical about it, but I really urge people to look into these things carefully (before) you start spending money," Stunkel said.

Stunkel did file a police report about the incident, she told WBAL.