On February 05, 2002, the writer  spoke at great length  with Mary Ellen Senne of Hattiesburg, MS, regarding the allegations that Beverly Greenwood had stolen a neighbor's dog, and what led up to these allegations.  Ms. Senne is  involved in this incident due to the fact that Ozzie's owner is a neighbor of Ms. Senne and it was through contact with Ms. Senne that Greenwood became aware of Ozzie.

According to Ms. Senne, as a result of several visits to Ms. Senne's home, Greenwood knew Ozzie and she knew that he was owned by one of Ms. Senne's neighbors. Greenwood had always expressed an interest in Ozzie when she came by to groom  Ms. Senne's animals, which was once every 2 or 3 months when Greenwood would call Ms. Senne saying she desperately needed money.  Ms. Senne would try to help her out by allowing her to come into her home to groom her animals.  Greenwood didn't even have her clippers sharpened so there wasn't much grooming but she would get paid anyway.

The last time she was at Ms. Senne's home,  she was again told that Ozzie was owned.  Ozzie walked with everyone in the neighborhood as he's a very gregarious dog, and that night when Ms. Senne went for her walk Ozzie wasn't around.  The next
day Ozzie's owner called  and asked if she'd seen him.  Ozzie is owned by a single mom and her child and they were devestated when he went missing.  Greenwood knew this.  Ms. Senne immediately thought of Greenwood and her interest in Ozzie and called her regarding his possible whereabouts but Greenwood said she had nothing to tell her.

Knowing that Greenwood  "adopted" dogs in Petsmart parking lots (for a fee), the  Petsmart in Mobile, Alabama, was contacted.  They looked up their records and a Husky named "Oswell" had gone through and was adopted out by Greenwood.
Greenwood had collected $55 for him.  Petsmart reimbursed the couple who purchased him, gave them a gift certificate and Ozzie was returned to his family.

The night Ozzie was stolen, and possibly was in Greenwood's vehicle, Ms. Senne purchased 2 pizzas for Greenwood and gave them to her.  However, it was dark and she could not see into the car.

In addition, Greenwood had removed Ozzie from his owner's property on another occasion.  This was reputed to be a "mistake" and Ozzie was returned - however, is is indicative of the fact that Greenwood knew that Ozzie was not a homeless stray when she took him to the Petsmart parking lot in Mobile and "adopted" him out for $55.

Its a felony in the United States to steal property over $250.
 

 

Again from Pat Gonser on February 04, 2002:  The information is not true  The  dog was legally surrendered and  there is a surrender form to substantiate that.   Apparently  the woman who surrendered the dog had a fight with her boyfriend.  She understands that the dog was owned by both the woman and the boyfriend  The dog was adopted and then the woman had second thoughts and wanted the dog back.  The dog was taken from the "loving"  family who adopted it and is now back with the family who is less than kind to the dog.  The dog was outside most of the time, on a chain, in the cold.

Following these public comments, Ozzie's owner  had the following comments:  the dog was not legally surrendered - he was stolen the dog had never been given up for adoption - although this was the 2nd time Greenwood had removed the dog - the first incident was when she had 2 stray puppies she was turning over to Greenwood.  Greenwood removed one puppy and Ozzie from her yard while she was not at home - another indication that Greenwood knew to whom Ozzie belonged prior to the February, 2002, incident the dog was a gift from a friend and is solely owned by this lady and she asserts she does have the purchase documents,  Ozzie had never been "chained", the first time he was tied was the day AFTER he was retrieved from the Petsmart situation - so when and how did Gonser learn that he was now being tied?  (Gonser initially says Ozzie was "running at large" and later says he spent most of his time on a chain.) when the woman who purchased Ozzie with the $55 'donation' learned he had been neutered, she said she wanted to "keep him anyway".  She would like to see the alleged surrender form - if there is such a form with a signature pruporting to be hers, then that signature is a forgery Ozzie is treated as a member of the family, comprised of herself and 2 children - they are "not less than kind" and he is not left out in the cold. Ozzie's owner had not had a fight with her "boyfriend" - there is currently no boyfriend.

On Friday, February 08, 2002,  Ozzie's owner  spent 2 1/2 hours at the police station in Hattiesburg.  The police were  to evaluate the incident and decide what charges to lay - the complaint has been filed and its now up to the police where they go with it.  The dog is valued at over $400 which possibly would make it a felony charge.  In the interim, there is a major ongoing investigation  in an unrelated matter which has slowed the progress of this case.
 

If you have any information regarding this matter, please contact  Det. Rusty Keys  at the Hattiesburg, MS, police department (1-601-544-7900).
 
 
 

This is not the first time Beverly Greenwood has stolen a dog. In 1999 she stole 2 Chinese Cresteds belonging to Victoria King from a run that was taking them to Victoria. She and her then-partner Marci Chatfield were overheard planning to steal these dogs, and they did. When pressed for the return of both dogs to their righful ower, they were finally persuaded to return the eldest of the dogs. But they kept little Freya and Greenwood still refuses to return the dog to Victoria King, or to anyone else. She has even refused offers to purchase the dog from her.  You can see photographs of Freya as she appeared prior to Greenwood's possession and as she looked in Feburary, 2001 - http://www.animalcollectors.net/Freya1.html.  (Greenwood also appears in the photograph)

We have tried to make this report as concise, complete and objective as possible.  If you feel there are errors herein, please contact the writer at kmm@cadvision.com