ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WSVN) — A couple in St. Petersburg is speaking out after, they said, they contacted by scammers about their lost puppy. Dog trainers Michelle and Dennis Morida did what many desperate pet owners would do in the same situation. They now have a cautionary tale to share in ho pes that no one else gets scammed. A tiny gap in a backyard fence was all Hazel, the couple’s German shepherd puppy, needed to send them into a frantic search on Jan. 20. “We train service dogs, you know, combat wounded veterans, first responders,” said Dennis. “She squeezed just enough. She slipped right through, and then we looked on the cameras, and she went through the neighbor’s yard, but then it didn’t matter by that time.” The Moridas posted pictures of Hazel on Facebook and Nextdoor looking for help. Later that night, they said, they got a call from someone who claimed to be police saying that Hazel had been hit by a car and was in the hospital needing surgery. “They had a location for the incident where she supposedly got hit,” said Michelle. “Which was very close to here,” added Dennis. The man sent the couple a fake picture of Hazel on an operating table, and in their desperation, they thought it was her and sent $1,900 to him through the banking app Zelle. “So it all sounded legit, and I, and that’s where I was like, ‘OK, then, can we come see her?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, 9:30 in the morning,'” said Michelle. When the Moridas went to get Hazel the next day, they discovered their pet was back sitting in their golf cart. In that moment the couple realized they has been scammed. “I was beating myself up. How do I do this? I’m a professional, you know,” said Dennis. They hope others can learn from their mistake, since the scammers weren’t caught and are now using photos made with artificial intelligence to trick people in distress. “It kept beating me up. I believe everything happens for a reason, and this could be the reason right here,” said Dennis. Scams where the perpetrators impersonate well-known businesses and government agencies are among the top reported. In 2023, losses topped $1.1 billion. ...read more read less