Japanese actress caught in sheep 'poodle' scam [Sheep sold as poodles]

The Register ^ | 26 April 2007 | Lester Haines

[Fractal Trader]

A Japanese actress inadvertantly blew the lid off a scam which had duped thousands of women into buying coiffured sheep in the belief they were poodles, the Evening Standard reports.

Maiko Kawakami appeared on a TV talk show with snaps of her pet, and admitted she wondered why it "didn't bark and refused to eat dog food". She was soon set straight - her dog was in fact a sheep.

The revelation provoked a stream of women to contact the cops with "similar problems". The powers that be reckon that as many as 2,000 have fallen victim to the audacious ovine poodle con, perpetrated by internet company "Poodles as Pets", which offered the animals at £630 a pop.

A police spokesman told The Sun: "We launched an investigation after we were made aware that a company was selling sheep as poodles. Sadly, we think there is more than one company operating in this way. The sheep are believed to have been imported from overseas - Britain and Australia."

In case you're wondering how on God's Green Earth you could mistake a sheep for a dog, the Standard explains that poodles are "extremely rare in Japan, with many people having little idea what they look like". No, we're not convinced either.

[Fractal Trader]

poodles are "extremely rare in Japan, with many people having little idea what they look like"

[theFIRMbss]

>Japanese actress caught in sheep 'poodle' scam [Sheep sold as poodles]

Cram school

[blam]

Rush is talking about this right now.

[Tax-chick]

No WAY!

You’d think even if a person hadn’t seen a poodle, they’d notice that the sheep didn’t have feet like a dog. Do the Japanese have any dogs they don’t eat?

[dead]

This is the funniest story I'll likely read today.

I guess sheep are cheaper than poodles. Who knew?

[weegee]

Is Rush reading FR more often live on radio???

Yesterday the “current” thread on Bawbawa Wawa and the Bush motorcade (including the improper attribution of Bawbawa saying “Do you know who I am, (Cha Cha)?”) was mentioned on Rush (and he had to give a correction later when it was discovered that one of the other Shrew members said “Did they know who you were?”)

[dragonblustar]

****- which offered the animals at £630 a pop.

[dead]

the Standard explains that poodles are "extremely rare in Japan, with many people having little idea what they look like".

You'd think clever people like the Japanese might have invented photographs by now.

Gorillas are very rare here in New Jersey, but I know what they look like.

[Cowboy Bob]

Maiko Kawakami appeared on a TV talk show with snaps of her pet, and admitted she wondered why it "didn't bark and refused to eat dog food".

Probably also wondered why her husband would spend hours locked in the bedroom with the "poodle." :0)

[ClearCase_guy]

Japan is a very strange country.

[N. Theknow]

Sounds as though someone got the wool pulled over their eyes.

[texgal]

One has to wonder if the “Baaaaaaaaa” instead of the bark didn’t give them a clue! Too funny!

[stylecouncilor]

ping

[N. Theknow]

Japanese actress caught in sheep 'poodle' scam [Sheep sold as poodles]

Admits she feels she got fleeced.

[CholeraJoe]

You can’t make up stuff like this.

[Argus]

And, somewhere in New Zealand, a farmer is wondering why his lamb tastes funny.

[GraniteStateConservative]

The Japanese don’t eat dogs. Very poor, rural Japanese ate dogs during WW2 out of desperation.

Dogs are eaten in Korea, parts of China, Siberia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines. I know it’s legal in North Korea. I think it’s an underground activity in the other places.

[Oberon]

I know it’s legal in North Korea.

It's FINDING ONE that's the trick.

[NRA2BFree]

I would have to see a picture of those “poodles” after they were groomed to be able to understand how in the world they could have been so fooled. I can’t even imagine anyone not knowing the difference between sheep and poodles. They must be cute. ;o)

[BossLady]

I am just trying to imagine an owner taking their ‘Shoodle’ to the Vet......and the Vet having to look up the pooch in the Clincal Medicine for Cats & Dogs Manual.....to no avail.....LOL!

[the OlLine Rebel]

Can’t be serious.

Please tell me people aren’t this stupid!

[windcliff]

Talk about being stupid.

[NRA2BFree]

I googled for an image of a sheep that had been groomed to look like a sheep, and this is the first picture I found. LOL

[the OlLine Rebel]

This is the perfect time to use teh word,

“SHEEPLE”.

[Constitution Day]

Maiko Kawakami appeared on a TV talk show with snaps of her pet, and admitted she wondered why it "didn't bark and refused to eat dog food".
She was soon set straight - her dog was in fact a sheep.

[No Truce With Kings]

What’s so bah-ah-ah-ad about what she is doing?

I guess unsatisfied customers have to bleat about this.

[JenB]

LOL!

[Silly]

At least they can eat the sheep once they find out what they are.

[llevrok]

Can’t be serious.

EWE Can’t be serious?

[tertiary01]

Here’s a link to the N Korea giant rabbit raising “venture”.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Quirks&article=UPI-1-20070405-12495900-bc-germany-giantrabbits.xml

[Daffynition]

This could happen to anyone. It is impossible to tell them apart...owners included.

[bert]

This is the funniest thread in a long time. We chide New Yorkers for their insular ignorance but appareantly Tokyoans are worse.

[tertiary01]

I wonder if they were able to train them not to poo indoors.

[tertiary01]

Ping

[LongElegantLegs]

<----------A SHEEP.

<----------NOT A SHEEP.

[sticker]

She doesn’t appear to be the brightest bulb in the chandelier:

[dighton]

The swindle might work in reverse, say, on drunk New Zealanders, by marketing Bedlington terriers as Pretty Baa-Lambs.

[snowsislander]

I am not sure if this is a hoax or not. I did a little searching, and while there are a few stories in the English press, I didn't spot anything on any Japanese websites.

I didn't spend a lot of time on this and I could have easily missed it, but my guess would have been that I would have found lots of hits on the first search, even if my search terms weren't very good.

[theFIRMbss]

>“SHEEPLE”

Maybe if they spent less time playing with toy dogs they would know real dogs!

[NRA2BFree]

I guess they could groom one of these to look more like a poodle.

[HairOfTheDog]

Yikes...

Ping!

Other articles with keyword "DOGGIEPING" since 12/29/04

[bad company]

True story. My grandmother had a collie mix out on her farm. Some gentleman gave her a very young sheep with a lame rear leg. Following the collie around it grew up thinking it was a dog. It herded the cows when they got out. It chased cars. It even bleated out what was supposed to be a bark.

One of the more bizzare things I ever saw was two wild dogs come prancing up to it thinking they were in for an easy meal, turn and run for their lives when the sheep turned and charged them.

[the OlLine Rebel]

On FR several months ago someone posted pix of a small horse/pony foal who was being “raised” by a Labrador. It was the cutest thing!

Wonder what ever happened with that....

[Slings and Arrows]

Somewhere in Scotland, thousands of men are wondering hat happened to their mail-order brides.

[martin_fierro]

OK, now I'm confused.

[Tax-chick]

Ah, thank you for the information.

[TalonDJ]

Oh my....

[cartan]

PING!!!

[Hyzenthlay]

[Eaker]

Here you go.