Selling sheep as poodles in Japan.

[imron]

An article in an Australian newspaper reports on a scam in Japan, where people who were told they were buying poodles were actually being sold sheep.

The scam was uncovered when Japanese moviestar Maiko Kawamaki went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food.

She was crestfallen when told it was a sheep.

The sheep were being sold at less than half the going rate for a poodle, which once again highlights the fact that any deal that sounds too good to be true, probably is.

[bhchao]

Japanese police believe there could be 2,000 people affected by the scam, which operated in Sapporo and capitalised on the fact that sheep are rare in Japan, so many do not know what they look like.

Odd considering that sheep is one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, which is referenced in Korea and Japan.

[zhwj]

And any news story that seems too perfect to be true, usually is.

[imron]

Well, that'll teach me for believing newspapers

[skylee]

And here is the news report in Chinese on Metro.

[HashiriKata]

But what is the difference between a sheep and a poodle??

[imron]

About $1600

[HashiriKata]

For identification purposes, the attachment is a photo of a poodle:

[zhwj]

Mmmm....tasty!

[roddy]

There's actually an opportunity here. Sheep make perfectly good pets, the wool can be cut and dyed into whatever style you want, there are miniature breeds small enough to carry around. Just because nobody is yet selling sheep at great markup in Japan yet, doesn't mean it can't be done. Probably smarter than your average poodle also, and less yappy.