After their adorable pug, Edda, was seized by their town for unpaid debts and sold to a new owner in a controversial eBay transaction, a family in Germany was left heartbroken.
A wife and mother of three owed money to her town of Ahlen, including some in unpaid pet taxes, and the town decided to seize her most precious asset: the dog Edda. The city then sold Edda for just € 750 ($ 853.53) to a new owner from a private account on eBay. The new owner of Edda, a police officer named Michaela Jordan, said she was expecting to pay the pedigree pup twice that amount, BBC reports. The situation became even more confusing when it was revealed that after talking to a member of the Ahlen administration, Jordan bought the dog in December because she was suspicious of the low price. She went through the purchase after being assured that Edda was in good health.
However, she says that Edda has a plethora of health issues that have been expensive and unexpected over the last few months, including four operations for eye problems and an emergency operation over the holidays.
Jordan is now seeking €1,800 ($2048) in damages from the town.
Edda’s original family, who was not identified, said the way the situation was handled was “absolutely not okay,” and that although the seizure of her dog was legal, her three children were extremely sad to see the dog taken away. She added, however, that it was obvious Edda was “in good hands” with Jordan.
In another bizarre element of the story, local media outlets originally reported that the town of Ahlen first considered seizing the wheelchair belonging to the disabled husband of Edda’s original owner, as it was first thought to be the most valuable asset the family owned.
City spokesperson Frank Merschhaus quickly rejected that accusation, calling it a “wicked rumor.”
“Aids to guarantee the mobility of people with disabilities are absolutely exempt from being seized as collateral – unlike pets,” he said. “No enforcement officer would come up with the idea.”
A full investigation into the seizure and subsequent sale of Edda will reportedly be started, including that of the private eBay account that sold her.
