Potato the French bulldog was taken from outside her North Shore home and returned after a massive community effort. Photo / Amber Kasbe
Potato the French bulldog was taken from outside her North Shore home and returned after a massive community effort. Photo / Amber Kasbe
An Auckland family is complete again tonight after one of their smallest members was taken on a five-day “adventure” to the Bay of Islands, sparking a huge hunt.
Potato the French bulldog was eventually returned in a plot worthy of a Hollywood thriller, complete with a supporting cast of locals and dog-lovers from across the motu that helped bring her home.
When the Herald called North Shore mother of two Amber Kasbe she was overjoyed by Potato’s return and Potato was receiving a massage to soothe away the stress of the preceding days.
“Her little legs are hurt,” Kasbe said.
Potato the French bulldog was taken from outside her North Shore home. Photo / Amber Kasbe
Potato’s adventure began on February 4, when the four-year-old pooch followed a car through the electronic gate at the family’s home between Takapuna and Devonport.
Security camera footage captured the gates closing - and Potato’s failed attempts to squeeze through the bars - before a “sus white van” appears and a man is seen picking Potato up before the van drives away.
Kasbe said she was only able to view the footage after a local man responded to her online appeals for help retrieving the clip from her security system.
While the grainy footage showed that Potato had been taken, it didn’t reveal much more so Kasbe shared that video online and was again flooded with support.
“Within minutes people had figured out the make, model and year of the car,” Kasbe said.
But with only a partial number plate visible, they were hamstrung in finding those behind Potato disappearance.
Enter the codebreakers.
“Then some Alan Turing-type people like broke the code of what the registration was,” Kasbe told the Herald, referencing the noted English mathematician and codebreaker.
With technology revealing the car’s number plate, a local private investigator then stepped in to track down the culprits.
Kasbe was full of praise for police, who she said took her case seriously, but she also took direct action.
Armed with information from the private investigator and others, she learned that Potato had been taken to Kawakawa.
Video showed Potato struggling to get back through the gate. Photo / Supplied
Police warned her that the man involved was known to them and she was advised not to approach.
She didn’t make the first move, instead receiving an offer of help from a tradesman with a colourful past who had previously worked on her home.
“Yay for tradies,” Kasbe said of the man’s decision to go and knock on the door of the main suspect.
Potato is now safe again at home. Photo / Amber Kasbe
Eventually, after pressure from the social media attention and a call from the police, Kasbe herself organised a handover yesterday at a spot on Auckland’s North Shore.
“The police told me this is like a dangerous person. You cannot do this. And I said: ‘If I need to join a gang to get my dog, I will’.”
Working with a private investigator friend, Kasbe had a support crew hiding in the bushes and a safe word prepared.
“It was a whole thing,” she said.
No money was exchanged and the encounter was friendly enough but Kasbe says she was disappointed to learn that the people who took Potato planned to breed her. Potato has been speyed.
Police at home with Potato after she was returned. Photo / Amber Kasbe
Police later returned the dog’s collar, which was attached to a length of wire, offering a clue as to Potato’s treatment up north.
A police spokesperson confirmed to the Herald that a man has been summoned to appear in the North Shore District Court, where he will face a charge of theft of livestock or other animal.
Kasbe said her two daughters, aged 11 and 14, were relieved to have their much-loved pet home and so was Chip, Potato’s little canine buddy.
Kasbe, who is originally from the United States, said the support of the local community was “beyond anything I’ve ever seen”.
“It was unbelievable, this would never happen in the States. Never‚ never, never.
“You believed with us, posted flyers, shared our story, became amateur sleuths, and cried with us,” Kasbe said in a public thank you to her community.
“You offered support, prayers, time, and your shady Uncles.
“I’ve never felt more a part of a community. As an expat, this has affirmed my belief that NZ is home to the most empathetic and kind humans on the planet.
“Also, don’t mess with Kiwi dog owners.”
Chris Marriner is an Auckland-based journalist covering trending news and social media. He joined the Herald in 2003 and previously worked in the Herald’s visual team. He is more of a cat person, and also cares for a small herd of guinea pigs.
