Scammer tries to ransom West Kelowna family's missing dog

A West Kelowna family is heartbroken after their 10-year-old Samoyed Nanook went missing on May 2 along Scharf Road and has yet to be found.

Amanda Bos says she has spent days and nights searching for her beloved dog.

The family has posted Nanook's photo across the city and all over social media and says they will offer a cash reward for the person that finds him.

But on Mothers Day, Bos says she received the phone call she had been hoping for.

“We had a phone call from a guy stating he had the dog. So we were super excited and then he mentioned the reward so we were happy to hand that over. He requested an e-transfer so we wanted proof of the dog. When we asked for that he got quite angry at us and said that he would string up our dog or shoot him.”

Bos says she was able to trace the phone number and contacted RCMP.

RCMP pinged the phone number to Calgary. Police then went out to the home.

“The guy has a lot of fraud charges and there was no sign of Nanook there.”

The family once again devastated, along with their other samoyed dog, Kaysha, who Bos says is always looking for Nanook waiting for him to return.

The family is still hopeful a reward will help bring their boy home.

“If someone has him or anything like that, he is 10 years old, he is supposed to be screened for cancer right now we would give $1,000, no questions asked, no names need to be given.”