Canadian woman buys a Nigerian pup

A CANADIAN WOMAN handed over five hundred big ones for a Nigerian puppy that mysteriously didn't turn up, reports the Toronto Star.

The 'free' pup offer convinced Anita Hagerman to send $500 to Nigeria for an 11 week-old Yorkie to cover shipping costs. She claims she only became suspicious when she was asked for a further hundred bucks because the mutt needed a shot.

"I really got sucked in. I feel so gullible," blubbed the woman, and who are we to argue? "I've been taken, I know I have. It's a sad thing when people take advantage of others," she added.

The non-existent Nigerian canines are part of a worldwide scam using online ads to prise cash from the unwary, according to the Toronto Humane Society.

"The dogs don't exist," said a spokesman. "I would characterise these people as vultures," displaying perhaps a less than firm grasp of mammalian physiology.

The Toronto Star's reporting of the case is all the more commendable because the victim found the dodgy ad through, err, the Toronto Star's Website. Perhaps the woman's suspicion should have been aroused by the mention of the dog needing 'a good God-fearing home' and that the geezer offering it for sale claimed that he and his wife were both missionaries. When the Star phoned him up, he yelled:

"Are you trying to call me a scam? I'm a family man," he said. "I am a man of God. I am a missionary!"

Which all goes to prove that you simply cannot underestimate the gullibility of the public. Now. Anyone want to buy a hardly-used nuclear bomb? My late wife left it to me when she was sadly poisoned by Nigerian gangsters. Free to a good home, please send $100,000 to cover shipping and purchase taxes. No Iranians, please. µ

L'Inq
Toronto Star ($1,000 sub required to cover shipping costs)