October 22, 2013 -- You can't make this _____ up!

October 22, 2013

Back on, of all dates, my birthday, my wallet was stolen at the Vet's office in Oberursel -- literally down the block from my house.  I was sitting with Mac and Ana in the waiting area when another woman came in to weight her dog.  My well-behaved Great Dane -- not -- went crazy.  In order to hold her back, I put my wallet on the chair.  The Vet's assistant quickly motioned me into the examining room with both dogs so that I could get Mac away from the other dog.  After both dogs received their vaccinations, I left the room and took both dogs to the car.  I went back in to pay and realized that I did not have my wallet.  I looked all over the waiting area, and then, checked the examination room -- no wallet.  After 15 minutes of frantic searching by me, the Vet Tech and the Vet, there was no wallet.  The Vet asked the other client in the waiting area (she was there to put her rabbit down) if she saw anything and she said no.  I went back into the Examination Room and the Vet explained to me that the woman in the waiting area was a new client and that perhaps, she took it.  When I explained that my cell phone was in the wallet, the Vet tried calling my number to see if the woman had it.  We didn't hear a ring, but I was pretty sure that I had turned it off.   I went back home and cancelled everything.  The only problem was that my German Driving License was in the wallet.

I found out that in order to get a new license I had to, among other things, file a police report.  After two trips to the police station and an hour and half with an officer, I filed my report.

So, imagine my surprise when the police station called me on Friday, October 19th.  The officer asked me to go to the police station on Monday and meet with a dectective.   I had to bring with me my old credit card numbers and the EMI number for my cell phone.  I showed up on Monday with the information not really sure why I was being summoned.  The detective explained that they were trying to get a search warrant to search the house of the woman who was waiting in the office when my wallet was stolen.  I think he saw the shock on my face (I was thinking wow can they get a warrant just because the woman was in the waiting room at the time?) so he explained that the woman in the waiting area had a criminal record -- several prior convictions for theft.  He took all of my information and a picture of the new Vera Bradley wallet (the same design as the one that was stolen) and told me that he would be in touch if they got the warrant and any of my things showed up.  As we walked down the stairs, I said to him that the police would not go to such lengths in the U.S. for a stolen wallet.  His response to me was -- "Really, isn't that their job?"

Honestly, you cannot make this stuff up.  Truly a unique experience in Germany.