Parrot, Pooch Held for Ransom

parrot links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 29 March 2012)

Lütfi Paçal, who works as a real estate agent in Başakşehir (Istanbul),
taught Can, the parrot he's had for 10 years and about whom he says
'he's (or she's) my child', to speak and to even greet customers who come
to his office. They would have breakfast together. But on 14 March,
Cano did something he (she) never did before - he (she) flew through an
open window and came to rest on top of an apartment 200 meters away.

Paçal wanted to get to the top of the apartment but he couldn't locate
the doorman to let him in and when he finally reached the roof there
was no sign of Cano. That same day Paçal and his friend Yeliz Özdemir
prepared hand-outs and he first pasted them on the windows of his
minivan and on the doors of quite a few apartment houses. He handed
the flyers out at shopping centers, too.

A person who called Yeliz Özdemir's cellphone on 18 March said 'I
have the parrot. How much lira will you give me for it?'  In response,
Özdemir stated that if the caller would come to their office they would
give him whatever he wanted. The caller said he would call again a bit
later with some additional conditions and then hung up. The person
who claimed to be holding Cano did not call again, however, so Yeliz
Özdemir called the number herself but noone answered. When this
happened Paçal appealed to the state prosecutor to have the mysterious
caller identified.

Paçal explained that if Cano gets stressed out his feathers will start
to fall out. He added that 'if that happens he (she) will die within a
month. In other words, I have 15 days left. If the person who found
Cano brings him (her) to me I'll give him money and if he sold Cano
to someone I'm ready to pay the sales price.'


pooch links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 30 March 2012)

Four people who demanded money via the internet for a dog they
stole in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, have been taken into custody. The dog,
named Oscar, has been returned to his owner. The ransom demand
for the dog happened the day before yesterday in Beyoğlu. Allegedly,
Ercan Ç., Gökhan G., Savaş B. and Vural B. saw a 'Cavalier King
Charles' breed dog in the doorway of an apartment house. At a
moment when the dog's owner wasn't present they stole Oscar.

Emrah K. thought that his dog had gotten lost so he put a notice
up on his internet site. The suspects entered the website and
reached Emrah K., telling him 'we'll give you the dog  if you give
us money.'  Right away Emrah K. alerted the police and a meeting
with the suspects was arranged in Kadıköy via Emrah K. The
suspects came to the Kadıköy pier with Oscar and were arrested
by police, with all of the above going next to the police station.

After health controls, the suspects were transferred to the court
and Oscar was returned to his owner.