To start off, I know I shouldn't have given them money and it's on me that the money is gone. I shouldn't have believed him. I guess I'm just venting because I thought I was doing a good thing for a pittie in need but ended up a door mat.

TLDR: I gave money to someone to 'rescue' a hippo from a less-than-ideal situation but it's starting to look like they duped me.

So the other day I dashed to my local 711 during my work hours because I really wanted a soda. There's a middle aged guy with a young, beautiful pittie on a leash, talking on the phone, next to the 711. He sees me looking at the pup- I just love petting every single one I see- as I walk into 711. I come back out, and ask if I can pet the dog. Dog's a little skittish and the guy explains to me that it's his friend's dog. Said friend lives/lived in the apartment building next door but got evicted and couldn't take the dog with them, so he got his friend to give him the dog. He's now trying to figure out how to get the dog home but dogs cannot go on buses here, and his license is suspended.

I just pet the dog, the guy doesn't ask for anything. Because I'm a helpful idiot, I try to help him figure out a way he could get the dog to the next town over where his son works; he'd wait for his town to finish work and then his son could drive them home. At this point he still isn't asking for anything. We brainstorm- my Uber account doesn't work (long story) and other ride shares don't accept dogs on their ride. It's way too far to walk. Eventually I offer to drive him to the next town (I'm a woman much younger than him, what could go wrong!). He's ecstatic, thanks me a million times.

On the ride, he tells me how his friend didn't really treat the dog all too well: doesn't get dog food to eat but scraps from human food, like burgers or fries, even a twix, stuff like that, out of a cooking pot. The dog doesn't even have a bowl. The dog has a ragged old harness and doesn't get much exercise either. He doesn't want the dog to end up in the wrong hands or at the shelter. Idk, we have a conversation about rescue dogs, as he's never had a dog that was a rescue, and I tell him to get the dog chipped, vaccinated, all that stuff, and to keep the dog separated from other dogs in the household at first, because, ya know, a new environment is stressful and we want a happy ending here. He says he'll get the dog a new harness and collar, and finally a bowl and a soft dog bed. There was more to the conversation but you get the gist.

I don't even know why but I offer to drive him home, I'm on the road anyways. My husband even calls to check in on me since I said I was going to be back in 10 min. I exchange numbers with that guy in the car, we talk about play dates with my own pittie etc. On my way back home, after I drop him off with no issues, I get a text that his friend has a buyer for the dog, and all alarm bells ring in my head. The guy says his friend wants $400 but he can't really afford to throw that much on a dog rn, and if I know someone that might want the dog. The idiot that I am, I offer to help him buy the dog. I cannot take the dog in, as I'm leaving the next day for a trip. We agree he'd keep the pup as we discussed previously.

Guess what? After sending one video of himself with the dog in his yard, his messages get more vague and eventually the guy stops responding. I got duped I guess. That money is gone and god knows what he did with that dog. Eventually I get him to admit that he gave the dog 'to a friend' because said dog doesn't get along with the existing dogs in his household. I don't know if that's true or not but I am biting myself in the ass right now for being so gullible. Anyways, that's the story about how I am $250 poorer now because I am the biggest sucker for a couch hippo.