Dog-gone mystery - was Murphy kidnapped?

Murphy the missing pug dog has been reunited with his owner after allegations of dognapping and abuse, "nasty" emails, and a covert drop-off at the SPCA.
On Tuesday, the Bay of Plenty Times ran the story of Murphy's disappearance from his Maungatapu home on July 11.
Owner Tracey Farrar was devastated, and so were the residents of Pyes Pa Country Lodge and Resthome, where Ms Farrar works as a diversional therapist. Murphy has helped residents at the lodge as part of their therapy.
After the story appeared, an email was sent to the resthome from a person who claimed to have stolen Murphy.
The email, sent from a Hotmail account claiming to belong to a group called Animal Avengers, said Murphy had been taken and rehomed because he was neglected. The Bay of Plenty Times received an email from the same address, which said Murphy was "happy, safe and well", and was taken because he was mistreated.
Ms Farrar "felt like crying" after being shown the "quite nasty" email sent to the resthome, and immediately laid a theft complaint with Tauranga police, who confirmed they are investigating the case.
She said Murphy was a happy, healthy dog, and allegations that he had fleas and worms, and was mistreated, were false.
"It's all lies, he's very well loved. He's a family pet."
The Bay of Plenty Times replied to the email and spoke to a woman who claimed to have sent it. The woman claimed the dog had been taken out of Tauranga, and was living with a family under the new name of Romeo. The woman also claimed the "vigilante" group had removed about 45 cats from homes in Papamoa and Welcome Bay in the past two years, because they believed the animals were mistreated. This claim has not been substantiated.
But within hours of the newspaper's inquiries, Murphy was mysteriously handed in to Tauranga SPCA.
The SPCA was unable to reveal any information about who dropped off Murphy, as such information was kept confidential. But a staff member at the organisation said the dog was in "perfect" condition, and there was "nothing wrong with him at all".
 The pair were happily reunited on Wednesday night.
Ms Farrar said Murphy had been very excited since the reunion, and had not stopped barking.
"I'm so rapt. I'm just so relieved that somebody has a conscience and he's been returned. I thought somebody had taken him for fighting.
"I can understand how people must feel when their child gets taken. He's only a dog, and he's a big part of your life."
Ms Farrar said support from the Maungatapu community had been overwhelming.
"I'd like to thank everyone. I've had so many phone calls from people saying they will look out for him. It's absolutely fantastic."
And after getting Murphy back, the first thing Ms Farrar did was get him microchipped.
He then had a happy reunion with residents of the resthome, who were delighted to see the dog.