AUSTIN, Texas — For almost seven months, Demetria Harris and her cousin Beatrice Garner have been desperately looking for Harris’ dog, Doctor Strange.
“We do miss him. It’s a lot quieter here without him,” Garner said “He was a ball of energy and a ball of joy and just too friendly.”
It’s a similar situation to the one Jordan Myers has dealt with, as she has been looking for her cat Fury for about a month.
“It’s been really tough, pretty much every day, every evening I’ll go out and put up fliers, walk around different parts of our neighborhood calling out for him,” Myers said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Harris says she got a call from a man claiming he had her dog and was in need of an operation while also asking for payment. Harris noticed the call came from the same number of the Austin Humane Society.
“I said, how much was it? He said, for right now, it’s going to be $1,295,” Harris said.
Harris says her bank declined the payment, which is when Garner started speaking with the caller and started noticing red flags.
“You can hear the dude ask the other dude in the background, he’s like, ‘Did the CashApp go through? Go ask her if the CashApp came through,’ and I don’t think we were meant to hear that,” Garner said. “They hung up faster than I could give them the words Jesus wanted me to.”
On Wednesday, Myers said she also got a call from a number that said “Austin Humane Society,” with the caller saying her cat was injured and would be paralyzed if they did not do surgery.
“They asked me $3,100 for the surgery and I, you know, of course was willing to do anything for our pets,” Myers said.
Myers also attempted to send money but says the transaction was denied. Desperate to save Fury, Myers drove to the Austin Humane Society when she heard something troubling.
“They explained to me that the scheme had been happening around Austin recently,” Myers said.
Sarah Hammel is the Director of Communications at the Austin Humane Society, who confirms they have gotten reports of these calls.
“We’re never going to ask for somebody to pay for something ahead of time,” Hammel said. “We’re in the business of saving lives.”
For loving pet owners like Myers and Harris, the calls serve as a painful reminder of what they are waiting for.
“Knowing that it was just a trick, it hurt,” Harris said. “It felt like I lost him again and I didn’t even have him.”
For anyone who finds themselves in this situation, Hammel wants to remind you to call the shelter directly and check the source. Be wary if a caller asks you for money on CashApp or Zelle.