Colombian canine kidnappers demand 350,000 dollar ransom

BOGOTA, Oct 19 (Reuters) Colombian kidnappers have demanded 350,000 dollar to return a German shepherd taken from a rich Bogota family, going so far as to send a proof of life video with a note saying, ''This is how your dog cries at night.'' An anti-extortion police unit, used to tracking human victims in the world's kidnapping capital, has been put on the case of Aldo de Fescol, the canine captured last month.

The abductors apparently evaded security systems in the house were Aldo lived, tranquilized him and made off with him while the family was not home.

''They didn't take anything else. They went straight for the dog,'' police said.

Kidnapping for ransom is big business in this Andean country, where drug-running leftist rebels are fighting a four-decade-old revolution. More than 3,000 Colombians are currently held captive, most by the guerrillas.

REUTERS RSA RAI2220