Pilfered Pooch Home, Human Still Doggone Mad

'Princess Grace,' the unfortunate pawn in a vulgar tale

If you like drama, you'll love this!  The story is so twisted and insane, we can't even excerpt it for fear of leaving out a tatty detail, so we present it in its entirety via The Eagle Tribune, by Cara Hogan.  Has the whole world gone crazy?

HAMPSTEAD, New Hampshire, December 4 — Princess Grace the dachshund is safe at home, but her owner is still barking mad she was stolen.
Carol Cascadden, 61, admits she recently stole the dog from neighbor Patricia Reardon to upset her, and it worked. Reardon said she couldn't sleep for the 17 days her dog was missing.
"I came home one day and said, 'Something is missing, Gracie's missing,"' Reardon said. "Who would do that? I called friends and said, 'You didn't take Gracie did you?' I was a wreck the whole time."
Police arrested Cascadden on a burglary charge last week after finding the dog at the woman's Main Street home. She was released on $2,500 personal recognizance bail and is to be arraigned Jan. 24 in Plaistow District Court.
Cascadden told The Eagle-Tribune she took the dog because Reardon owed her $487. But Reardon said she doesn't owe Cascadden a cent.
Reardon said she met Cascadden at a local farmstand earlier this year and Cascadden started stopping by her Island Pond Road home uninvited and unannounced.
"She would appear in my house when I wasn't home to chat," Reardon said. "She would just walk right in. I used to keep my door unlocked, but not anymore."
Reardon said Cascadden would talk for a long time and she would try to think of a polite way to ask her to leave. During one visit, Cascadden offered to reupholster two old chairs.
"I never asked her to do anything," Reardon said. "Then one day, my chairs disappeared."
Reardon said she wasn't too upset since the chairs were old and not worth much.
"Later, she showed up and said, 'Here are your chairs," Reardon said. "Then she hands me a bill for almost $500. I thought it was a joke. I would have thrown the chair away before I paid $500 for them."
Reardon pointed to the two chairs, both wood with small seat cushions Cascadden re-covered with a multicolored pattern.
Reardon said the real issue wasn't the chairs at all, or even the money. Cascadden had asked to have her other dachshund that she gave away, but Reardon refused.
"She could have just taken the chairs, but took my dog," Reardon said. "It's because she wanted one of my dogs. These dogs are expensive."
When Reardon came home Nov. 9 and realized Princess Grace was gone, along with the large dog crate, she immediately suspected Cascadden.
"I realized it must be her, who else would it be? She wanted one of my dogs and was telling people around town I owed her money," Reardon said.
She reported her missing dog to police, who found it at Cascadden's home unharmed.
Reardon said police returned Princess Grace, who was miserable after being stuck in her crate for days.
Cascadden regrets taking the dog. She said it was humiliating when police took her fingerprints and snapped mug shots.
"It was one of the stupidest things I've done in my life, I admit," she said. "I was completely sober and I took her damn dog."
Cascadden said Princess Grace is "a cute dog, but it has fleas."
Reardon said she is happy to have her dog back, but was really upset about Cascadden's comment.
"My dog doesn't have fleas," she said.


We'll file this one under Hot Mess.