WASHINGTON - Police are issuing a warning to D.C. pet owners because of a new crime trend involving petnapping.

Authorities say the crimes usually begin with a dog or cat disappearing. Then days later, someone contacts the owner saying they found the pet. Their ultimate goal, police say, is extorting money from the owner.

When Thumper vanished from his front yard a few weeks ago, his owner promptly put out flyers. She then received a phone call from a woman who said she had the cat but to get him back, the owner had to pay.

"She said a black man sold me your cat for $100 off the street," said Marianna LaFollette, the cat's owner. "And that is what she wanted back for compensation for getting him for me."

LaFollette thought the story sounded odd. A neighbor says it was a white woman who she saw steal Thumper and it was a white woman who said she bought the cat.

"She did match the description of my eye witness who saw my cat being carried away by a strange woman," LaFollette said.

When the woman showed up, LaFollette says she grabbed Thumper, then said she'd pay up if the woman came to the police department to file a crime report. Instead, LaFollette says, the woman split.

Meanwhile, LaFollette says other people in her neighborhood have had pets disappear to be returned by people who say they paid hundreds of dollars for the animal.

In the District Thursday, pet owner Mark Friedman tied his dog Walley to a table in front of a coffee shop. "[I put him there] because I had to get some coffee beans and I knew it would be quick," said Friedman, who says he asked people sitting nearby to keep an eye on Walley because he's heard of petnappings.

"My worst fear is that someone takes my dog while I'm running inside. It's a shame that it's come to that but I guess sometimes you got to be a little extra careful," he said. 

Animal control officers say the most frequently stolen pets are small dogs like Yorkies. They say pet owners with small animals should keep an eye on them, even when they're in their own yards.

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