An alleged dognapping occurred in Sunnyvale Monday, and the family called the cops after someone called to tell them he had their lost dog and wanted money to return him.

The dog's name is Norm, and it's unclear how he disappeared — he may have escaped and gotten lost. As KRON4 reports, soon after Norm went missing, his family received a phone call from a suspect demanding and undisclosed sum of money for his return.

They then called the Sunnyvale police, known as the Department of Public Safety (DPS), for help.

"Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers assisted the Family with setting up a fake meeting between them and the suspect to exchange Norm for the money," Sunnyvale DPS says in a Facebook post. "Officers in unmarked patrol vehicles responded to the agreed upon location and waited for the suspect. Once the Suspect arrived on scene with Norm he was taken into custody."

The dog was reportedly just fine, and in good health.

The suspect has been identified as Ahmad Rahish Najib, and he was booked into county jail on suspicion of extortion and grand theft, in addition to other charges.

This story with a happy ending follows on a great many dog-thievery stories in the Bay Area in recent years, though more often in the news have been stories of French bulldogs being taken for resale.