Pennsylvania State Police are searching for the person who bought 3 English bulldog puppies with bogus checks. The victim is an elderly couple from Cumberland County. Not only do the Thrones feel used, they are also concerned over the dogs’ welfare. English bulldogs can’t tolerate extreme cold. The Thrones have been dog breeders for years, but never fell victim of a scam like this. They’re not short $7500 and worried about where the puppies could be.
Thomas and Adele Throne, of Mechanicsburg, advertised their sale when mom, Dulce, gave birth to a litter of 5.
They sold 3 of the puppies to a man who called himself Paul Brown, of Philadelphia.
On February 1st, at mile 266 on the Turnpike, Brown got the puppies, the Thrones got two checks and everything seemed fine…until they took the checks to the bank.
Thomas says, “2 or 3 days later they called and said the checks were no good. They were not able to locate the bank listed on the checks.”
Adele says, “How can you steal money from other people? That’s stealing, robbery.”
State Police are investigating the suspect’s identity. Trooper Rob Hicks says, “We do have some names and addresses and phone numbers, so we’re going to backtrack and see if they come to any legitimate leads. Unfortunately, the stuff is made up and fraudulent.”
As the Thrones wait for a lead they’re changing the way they do business.
“Cash only.” They say. “Or we deliver the dogs to their houses so we can see the environment the dogs are going to.”
The dogs are micro-chipped but that information will only give you the Throne’s phone number, not the dogs’ location.