Dog Theft

[skinnydipper]

I didn't want to derail the "I despair" thread.

https://www.scotsman.com/news/crime...eal-during-stabbing-in-glasgow-park-1-5010598.

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/crime/dog-snatcher-suspected-grabbing-skye-german-shepherd-outside-murrayfield-sainsburys-1306909

https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/dying-dog-dumped-ellesmere-port-17125012

There were also distressing photos on FB of a Westie that had been found, it was covered in bite wounds and there was no doubt it had been used as a bait dog.

Just a few of a number of incidents that I have read about in the last few months.

Dog theft in the UK is rising. On Teletext a few weeks ago it stated that it is estimated that there are now on average 10 dog thefts per day.

Last year 1,959 dogs in the UK were reported stolen to Police - that is more than 5 per day. Only 17% were returned to their owners.

We can only speculate what happened to the other 83%, breeding?, dog fighting/bait dogs?, sold?.

Dogs are stolen from inside their homes (whole litters in some cases), gardens, cars, when tied up outside shops, snatched on walks.

You wouldn't have to assault anyone to steal a dog round these parts, they are routinely tied up outside the local shops. People seem oblivious to the risks when leaving their pet unattended.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I would never leave a dog outside a shop very sad about the thefts

 

[Meredith]

It is horrid isn’t it that the thieves don’t care about the distress they cause.

 

[Smitty]

I'm 99% sure I had a neutered (and muzzled!) terrier pinched almost 10 years ago whilst out walking. He was ahead of me by a few yards on a riverbank path, there was a bend in the path and I never saw him again. I am so sure he nipped under a gap in the chain link fence to a warehouse unit where lorries from all over gathered.

I informed dog warden, vets, gypsy liaison officers, put him on Doglost, put up posters with a £2,000.00 reward, searched like mad and never had any news.

He was chipped and wearing a collar with a tag.

I got him from a rescue centre and he was estimated to be roughly 3 years old. I still look at every white terrier with similar markings, although I doubt he is alive.

It was a terrible experience that will stay with me forever. I am terrified that the chap I have now will be pinched.

I have no idea why people tie dogs up outside shops. Apparently no one will take their dog.

All I can say is I doubt mine was taken for a pet, he was agressive.

 

[skinnydipper]

I'm 99% sure I had a neutered (and muzzled!) terrier pinched almost 10 years ago whilst out walking. He was ahead of me by a few yards on a riverbank path, there was a bend in the path and I never saw him again. I am so sure he nipped under a gap in the chain link fence to a warehouse unit where lorries from all over gathered.

I informed dog warden, vets, gypsy liaison officers, put him on Doglost, put up posters with a £2,000.00 reward, searched like mad and never had any news.

He was chipped and wearing a collar with a tag.

I got him from a rescue centre and he was estimated to be roughly 3 years old. I still look at every white terrier with similar markings, although I doubt he is alive.

It was a terrible experience that will stay with me forever. I am terrified that the chap I have now will be pinched.

I have no idea why people tie dogs up outside shops. Apparently no one will take their dog.

All I can say is I doubt mine was taken for a pet, he was agressive.

Oh, Smitty. How awful, I am sorry.

I have a 50+ kg mastiff x breed. She is super friendly with dogs and people but I know what she would be used for. It makes me feel sick to think about it.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I know of 2 hunt terriers that were stolen and found about 200 miles away, wandering separately. There had been a LOT of FB activity about them. We never found out if it was sabs who took them or someone who mistakenly thought they were 'rescuing' them to become pets(!) but did think that the publicity got them back, they were chipped even though it is a few years ago before it became law.

 

[skinnydipper]

A brave woman, looking for her own stolen dog, took photos of the dogs at a travellers' site. She didn't find her own dog but posted the photos on FB in case somebody else recognised their dog. They were not the typical terriers or lurchers that you normally associate with the travelling community.

If you Google "stolen dogs travellers site" you will see why she felt justified in doing this.

 

[TheresaW]

It is my biggest fear, my dogs being stolen. Both are neutered, so no good for breeding, but bait dogs are read about all the time. If someone broke into my house, they could have everything, just please leave my dogs alone.

 

[Smitty]

A friend of mine had her little bitch terrier go missing shortly after travellers had arrived in the area where she had stables and a couple of acres for her ponies. It had bee wandering around her yard whislt she was mucking out and just vanished.

Bless her, she marched down to the site and demanded to look in each van! The dog was never found but I was told by the TLO at the police that dogs were moved out of the area straight away and there would be a ring whereby they were passed around between sites.

 

[ester]

They picked up about 100 dogs from a site near me, I think about 8 were stolen and some stolen collies turned up at a similar time a couple of days after they were taken.
It does surprise me how many are found with out of date chip details.

We suspect the old JRT belonging to my YO was picked up then dumped. He was staying with someone else while they were on holiday and went missing on a walk- he was pretty deaf and we suspect he probably headed back to the carpark. He was found 11pm at night on someone's doorstep in central salisbury about 15 miles from where he started which seemed unlikely on his own. Thankfully they took him to the pets at home vets who rang the house phone which was the one phone I was very pleased to answer (I lived in their annexe).

 

[Stiff Knees]

A few weeks ago, quite close to us, a Labrador was stolen with a pick up it was being carried in. The dog was recovered but I think there was talk that a fee had been paid, his microchip had been cut out! Not sure how I feel about paying a ransom, if that's what it was, but tbh in that position I would have done exactly the same. Anything to get the dog back home.

 

[TheresaW]

There is a missing collie on fb I am following called Eddie. I honestly cannot imagine how his owners are feeling. We lost a cat once, and I honestly do think, if we’d found her body, or at least been notified by a vet that her body had been taken in (she was chipped), it would have made things easier.

 

[Stiff Knees]

There is a missing collie on fb I am following called Eddie. I honestly cannot imagine how his owners are feeling. We lost a cat once, and I honestly do think, if we’d found her body, or at least been notified by a vet that her body had been taken in (she was chipped), it would have made things easier.

We are registered with www.doglost.co.uk and are informed when a dog goes missing in or near our postcode area. It is heartbreaking that there are so many but heartening to also see so many reunited.

 

[skinnydipper]

We are registered with www.doglost.co.uk and are informed when a dog gives missing in or near our postcode area. It is heartbreaking that there are so many but heartening to also see so many reunited.

Thanks for that link, SK. I have just registered with them.

 

[skinnydipper]

I think there is more chance being reunited with a lost dog than with a dog who has been purposely stolen.

 

[Stiff Knees]

I think there is more chance being reunited with a lost dog than with a dog who has been stolen.

I think the theory is that extensive social media coverage makes a dog too hot to handle, they might then be turned loose which is when there's a chance they'll be recovered. The Labrador I mentioned a few posts ago was found by a professional dog tracker apparently. I didn't even know such people existed.
Some owners are not certain if their dog has been stolen, or has strayed.

 

[fiwen30]

Just awful.

I don’t think I’ve ever left my dog unattended outdoors, or out of my eye-line on/off-lead in his life. Every winter, there’s dreadfully sad posts about missing dogs from gardens that have had fences blown down, or gates left/blown open, and the owners haven’t a clue if their pet is away down the road, or if someone has taken them.

I wouldn’t wish anyone to ever experience a lost or stolen animal, but why people continue to leave their dogs outside shops, alone in their gardens, or allowed to be so far ahead off-lead that they can’t be seen, just baffles me.

I’m heart-scared that my partner‘s Golden Retriever will get pinched one day - his recall is...sketchy, and he frequently takes off on walks. He’s entire, and they frequently get stopped by strangers asking if he’s for sale, or for stud. Just the other day, I almost lifted a little dog bolting down the pavement of a busy road, no collar, harness, or lead; but by the time I’d pulled over safely, grabbed my emergency lead and caught it, the owner appeared from 2 streets away demanding to know what I was doing with his dog!

 

[bonny]

There is a lot of scaremongering going on on this thread, I’m sure cases of actual dog stealing are very small and I wouldn’t worry unless you have a very valuable and young dog that’s obviously not neutered. Thousands of dogs are pts every year because no one wants them, that’s the reality. The middle case on the OPs first post was a case of a couple splitting up and the dog was taken by a so called friend of one party and left nearby. Everyone gets excited about dogs disappearing outside shops but I for one have never heard of a dog being stolen while tied up and I’m sure we’ve all seen a lot of dogs left outside shops.

 

[Magnetic Sparrow]

My mother's dog was stolen from Reading and recovered from a traveller camp in Portsmouth.

Bonny, I'm not sure I entirely agree with your thinking. Not that many cars are stolen compared to the number, but I lock mine when I leave it somewhere. I don't leave my dog vulnerable either.

 

[skinnydipper]

There is a lot of scaremongering going on on this thread, I’m sure cases of actual dog stealing are very small and I wouldn’t worry unless you have a very valuable and young dog that’s obviously not neutered. Thousands of dogs are pts every year because no one wants them, that’s the reality. The middle case on the OPs first post was a case of a couple splitting up and the dog was taken by a so called friend of one party and left nearby. Everyone gets excited about dogs disappearing outside shops but I for one have never heard of a dog being stolen while tied up and I’m sure we’ve all seen a lot of dogs left outside shops.

Bonny, please could I draw your attention to this sentence from my original post.

"Last year 1,959 dogs in the UK were reported stolen to Police - that is more than 5 per day. Only 17% were returned to their owners."

That is fact, not scaremongering.

Merry Christmas to one and all.

ETA. You obviously know more about the case in the middle link than was reported.

 

[bonny]

My mother's dog was stolen from Reading and recovered from a traveller camp in Portsmouth.

Bonny, I'm not sure I entirely agree with your thinking. Not that many cars are stolen compared to the number, but I lock mine when I leave it somewhere. I don't leave my dog vulnerable either.

Cars are not comparable to dogs, your car is very likely to be taken if you leave it unlocked in a public place. They are worth money or fun to take for a joy ride, the majority of adult dogs are worth nothing and would just be a hassle to take. Anyone who wants a free or cheap dog hasn’t got a problem with finding one. The case reported above in Edinburgh might look like a case of someone stealing a dog but it was an angry friend who took the dog and left it nearby. Non of those three examples are cases of proven dog theft

 

[meleeka]

I agree with Bonny to a point in that there is a lot of scaremongering, but dog theft is very real and does happen.

Locally to me there was a story about attempted theft and included multiple people. When someone asked the police, there were in fact no reports of any attempted thefts in that area so it seems the stories were fabricated. The police even put out a statement reassuring local people. I don’t ever share this sort of thing on fb for that reason. There was another posting and when the original poster was challenged he admitted he’d only shared a post (and made it look as if it was his) from the previous year and the other end of the country!

Down here travellers do seem to be responsible for a lot of thefts and there have been instances where people have got them back from traveller sites.

 

[ester]

Gundogs seem to be a particular target, I don’t think the guy in somerset who had several stolen from the trailer ever got any of them back.

That and popular small breeds.

I don’t see much scaremongering tbh, most are verifiable thefts not dogs that have just gone off.

 

[ester]

Another ‘working’ bunch yesterday

 

[{97702}]

The levels of ignorance displayed on this forum occasionally never fail to astonish me - dogs are stolen all the time, this is hardly scaremongering ?

Designer breeds are stolen by those who want to make a quick buck - easy money when French Bulldogs go for over £1,000 each. And it doesn’t have to be “travellers” who are doing the stealing, any low life opportunist can do it.

Gundogs are also regularly stolen - again, great resale opportunity!

And dogs like my own - lurchers and greyhounds - will always be stolen for use as working dogs. Having seen my 6 stone ex racing greyhound at full stretch, he may be ‘retired’ but he could easily wipe the floor with a deer.....

I am aware that a lot of dogs go missing and are considered to be stolen when in fact someone has left a gate open/they have found a hole in a fence, but this doesn’t detract from the fact that dog theft is a genuine problem.

And don’t get me started about bait dogs..... ?

 

[skinnydipper]

I thought it better if I deleted my original post.

Sorry folks.

 

[{97702}]

I couldn’t possibly comment SD ?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Do we not have an extradition treaty with Ireland? Why can't we get someone back who has been found guilty in his absence? Surely an European arrest warrant could be issued for this low-life?

 

[skinnydipper]

Do we not have an extradition treaty with Ireland? Why can't we get someone back who has been found guilty in his absence? Surely an European arrest warrant could be issued for this low-life?

Deleted

 

[bonny]

The levels of ignorance displayed on this forum occasionally never fail to astonish me - dogs are stolen all the time, this is hardly scaremongering ?

Designer breeds are stolen by those who want to make a quick buck - easy money when French Bulldogs go for over £1,000 each. And it doesn’t have to be “travellers” who are doing the stealing, any low life opportunist can do it.

Gundogs are also regularly stolen - again, great resale opportunity!

And dogs like my own - lurchers and greyhounds - will always be stolen for use as working dogs. Having seen my 6 stone ex racing greyhound at full stretch, he may be ‘retired’ but he could easily wipe the floor with a deer.....

I am aware that a lot of dogs go missing and are considered to be stolen when in fact someone has left a gate open/they have found a hole in a fence, but this doesn’t detract from the fact that dog theft is a genuine problem.

And don’t get me started about bait dogs..... ?

Instead of just always sneering at me, prove it ! You say greyhounds are always being stolen, show me some cases where anyone was convicted ? I could get you any number of ex racers free, why steal one when lots are looking for a home ?