Turns out, the purloining of Madam Pooch was all a big misunderstanding: The hen-napper was after the other chickens.
It's a happy ending to this story out of rural Maryland. Six chickens that had been stolen from a home in Carroll County have been returned, and they are all safe.
The fowl deed happened Sunday. Resident Karen Jacob came home to find a mysterious sticky note on her door: "Sorry I couldn't find you. Took six chickens, left $40.'' The note was signed, "Frank.''
The problem was, Jacob's chickens were pets, not for sale. They belonged to Jacob's two sons, 8 and 11. They have names such as Gilderoy Lockhart, Madam Pooch and Michelle Obrahma.
Jacobs sometimes sells eggs from the chickens, but never the chickens themselves.
The family took their story to the Carroll County Times, filed a police report and posted on Craigslist to get the chickens back. They also started calling neighbors.
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That's when she learned someone else in the neighborhood was selling chickens.
The six chickens were soon returned, and Jacob said "Frank'' was mortified over his mistake.
