HotmailFreak show owner gets cash, no 5-legged pup
‘I didn't know it was a freak show,’ tearful dog owner told Chicago TV judge
 | Lilly, a Chihuahua-terrier mix, was destined for a Coney Island freak show when the pup's owner sold her to someone else. A judge ruled that the freak show owner is entitled to money since he didn't get the dog. |
Jeff Siner / Associated Press |
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Thanks to a Chicago TV judge, a Coney Island freak show operator is up $4,000 but down a five-legged puppy.
Judge Jeanine Pirro ruled during a taping of her show Wednesday that freak show owner John Strong is entitled to the cash after the dog's owner backed out of a contract to sell the Chihuahua-terrier mix to him.
Calvin Owensby agreed to sell the five-legged puppy formerly known as Precious to Strong on June 29. Strong sent Owensby $1,000, with a promise to deliver $2,000 more when Precious got to New York.
But Owensby, an unemployed electrician from Gastonia, North Carolina, balked days later after researching Strong online.
"I didn't know it was a freak show," a tearful Owensby told Pirro. "He said it was an amazing animal show."
After a flurry of media attention, Owensby said he got threatening phone calls, including one from a New York man who said only a freak would sell his dog to a freak show.
Strong's show has 27 odd animals, including a two-headed turtle named Pete and Repeat, a six-legged cow and an eight-legged pig.
Strong said once Pirro's show airs on Sept. 8, he'll sue Siegel to reclaim the dog — despite her lack of an extra paw.
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