For Elaine and Bob Gibson, it was just another day letting Max out with the family cat.

"That morning he chased the cat around the house. The cat came back and Max didn't," said Bob.

When Max didn't come back, the Gibsons began searching on the Internet. There, they found sites of missing dogs that looked a LOT like Max.

"One day, we got a call from a person in Akron saying that maybe you should check other areas, other counties. And, we'd never heard of it of this thing called dog flipping," said Bob. "So, my wife started checking on the internet in other counties and here there were hundreds of dogs missing just in the Tri-county area."

When they went investigating, they uncovered a growing epidemic, a new crime called pet flipping. Scammers steal the animals, and flip them, sometimes in seconds.

"They can get it either from perusing the Craigslist ads. And, looking for an ad, I found a dog., and they can say that's my dog and say that's my dog and then turn around an hour later and post it online," said Steffan Baldwin.

Baldwin, President of the Animal Cruelty Task Force of Ohio said even shelters with their endless supply of strays in need of loving homes become easy targets for thieves. And frankly, county humane agents cannot keep up with the scammers.

The lack of enforcement in rural Ohio is at 60-percent. It's what made Baldwin leave his full time paid position in Union County to begin his work around the clock.

Baldwin met the Gibsons while they were hunting for Max and stumbled upon a so-called animal rescue that was hoarding pets, and learned about dog flipping. They also found out how Max fit the bill of the kind of dog thieves were after.

"Your little Bichons, and your Pekinese, and your Pomeranians, anything that's small that's easy to take out of a yard...and has high marketable value," said Baldwin.

It's the kind of thing Selena Latimer is going to remember when she's playing with little Gracie.

"Keep her away from the street and keep her away from the cars and keep her from running away," said Latimer.

For Bob Gibson, he just hopes Max is well taken care of and he'll never miss an opportunity to micro-chip one of his dogs.

"Wherever Max is at now, I hope he's warm he's got a good person taking care of him and he's got a full belly," said Bob.

Besides micro chipping, experts say keep your pet close by and don't keep them tied out. Also, make sure they're spayed or neutered, so they can't be used for breeding. And, keep a current photo of your pet, so if they do turn up missing, authorities do have a better chance of finding the