I Don’t Know What It Is, But I Want One
This is pretty much the most awesome scam I have read about in a while:
Thousands of people have been ‘fleeced’ into buying neatly coiffured lambs they thought were poodles.
Thumbs up for the pun, but didn’t they notice the “dogs” didn’t baaaaaark?
But the scam was only spotted after a leading Japanese actress said her ‘poodle’ didn’t bark and refused to eat dog food.
Maiko Kawakami, who starred in the Japanese thriller Violent Cop, showed photographs of her pet on a television talk show only to be told it wasn’t a dog - but was in fact a lamb.
It had to have been completely awesome to be the one to tell Maiko the terrible truth. Suddenly, the gears start turning and everything clicks!
Poodles are famously used by the rich and glamourous on the continent but are extremely rare in Japan, with many people having little idea what they look like.
I would love to have sat in on the crooks’ brainstorming sessions. How do you even come up with this scam?! What were the police reports like? Were women bringing in pet rocks, garbage bags, horses, and shrubs claming that they had been tricked into thinking the imposters were poodles?
I actually got to spend a lot of time with sheep, since I participated in a Block & Bridle show at Cornell (figured it would be a unique opportunity). Unless these lambs spent a lot of time with humans, I don’t see how this woman could have even taken it for a walk! The sheep we handled had to be chased down and held firmly before they could be leashed. It also took a while before they could be walked. I can’t even see how this scam could have worked on so many people for so long!!!
Related posts:
Elsewhere Online | Kabitzin 04/26/2007
By Ender, 04/26/2007 @ 11:16 am
Oh man. Only in Japan could they pull this off.
By Kabitzin, 04/26/2007 @ 11:22 am
I agree. Hold on, my cat is climbing a tree again and leaving banana peels on the floor. Ugh, never heard of any other cats doing this.
By Ender, 04/26/2007 @ 12:25 pm
Instead of the Solariix we should have just imported giant rats and sold them as Chihuahuas over there. Callister would have been impressed, if he had been awake.
By Kabitzin, 04/26/2007 @ 12:28 pm
Genius! Yo quiero taco bell CON QUESO!
By Catnipped, 04/26/2007 @ 1:41 pm
LOL….thats awesome
By Kabitzin, 04/26/2007 @ 3:22 pm
Someone commented on the article that they were sheepdogs, hahaha!
I wish I had thought of that.
By Kabitzin, 04/26/2007 @ 3:31 pm
OMFG pictures of the poodle-sheep and the actress!!!!
And another article here.
Damn, better make an appointment with my vet to make sure Sydney is really a cat.
By Kungfucius, 04/27/2007 @ 7:46 pm
Looks like you were fooled!!!
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/irresistible/13179676/detail.html
By Kabitzin, 04/27/2007 @ 9:34 pm
Haha, I am not too surprised, but it had been picked up by so many reporters that I shrugged my shoulders and assumed it was true. Still an awesome awesome story =D.