Woman accused of snatching puppy faces further charges

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A caregiver who is facing accusations of “puppy snatching” and stealing credit cards from homes she worked at was landed with more charges in court.

Wendy Francis, 40, was charged in January with 28 dishonesty charges relating to credit cards, and stealing Liam, a Shih Tzu puppy, from his owners on Christmas Eve 2011.

Magistrates’ Court heard in January that she has 22 previous convictions for dishonesty.

Prosecutor Tawana Tannock alleged that Ms Francis visited Liam’s owners’ home under the guise of taking photographs of their animals, which had been advertised for sale. However, they later discovered their $2,000 pet had gone missing.

The Royal Gazette has previously reported that the dog’s owners, Bill and Marie Lusher, were reunited with Liam three days after Christmas.

On Thursday, Ms Francis, of Warwick was charged with four additional allegations of cheque fraud. The charges allege that she changed the amount written on a cheque in order to obtain $1,034 from the St Mary’s and Longford Road Corporation. The crimes are alleged to have been committed on March 22, 2012.

She denied the charges and a trial date was fixed for July 5, when she will also be dealt with in respect of the earlier charges. Mr Warner granted her $2,000 bail until that date.

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