stealing & reselling dogs

Orla K

I always fear that someone will take Sam or Sandy and they're not even my dogs. (Sandy is a pure breed mini jack russell and Sam is a beautiful dote)

I was looking through the lost and found tread and someone had there dog stolen and also caught the guy that stole it (good on ye) but, ages ago my friend found a king charles wandering around in a poor state, she brought him to the two vets in town and also the garda station, left her contact details with all of them. As well as that she contacted the local paper and radio and the dog was mentioned in both. She was able to hold onto the dog and walked him until she could find the owners but one day when she was walking him the poor thing was attacked by two other dogs. She brought him to the vet where he had to have surgery, cost her a fair bit of money, at this stage she had him for a good while and she decided that she wasn't going to find the owners (maybe they abandoned him). Anyway, after a good while later, someone said that X had a king charles which was stolen, his name was charlie, my friends dog answered to charlie, it was there dog. The dog which was found, taken in and cared for was apparintly stolen. My friend decided to keep the dog because they seemed to make none or little effort in trying to find the dog, they were careless with the dog (which is why it was found wandering) and by this stage my friend had grown attached to him.
I couldn't believe that these people jumped to the conclusion of missing dog=stolen.

On the other side of the coin then is (I don't know this person so details might be fuzzy), a guys jack russell went missing and he was driving around looking for it. He was up at about 6-7am looking for this dog, he decided to have a look in a local haulting site (some things which go missing end up there) but, didn't he see a guy getting out of a caravan with two dogs on leads one of which was his. He left the engine running, got out and asked the guy was he selling the dogs, of course he said he was. The owner bent down to the dog which recognised him, on his way up he grabbed the leads and punched the other guy in the chin, knocking him over and just legged it for the car with both dogs. I don't know if he found the owner of the other dog, hopefully he did.

Another friend had a dog which was found dead in a field. The dog had been stolen and used in a dog fight. It was harmless dog too. I think she even started a tread here looking for him and it was even locked because of people telling her that he was probably killed.

I'm wondering three things;
How can you know your dog is really stolen and not missing?
How can you prevent this from happening?
If it does happen how can you get the dogs back safely?

I think every dog owner should know the answer to those questions.

star-pants

Orla K wrote: »

I'm wondering three things;
How can you know your dog is really stolen and not missing?
How can you prevent this from happening?
If it does happen how can you get the dogs back safely?

I think every dog owner should know the answer to those questions.

First question - unless someone saw something, or your dog was in an area that it couldn't have gotten out of. If you've had your dog for a few years and suddenly bam it's gone, then you'd be suspicious.

Second - preventing - all you can do is be vigilant, make sure your dog is as secure as he/she can be. Keeping them protected when you're not there, keeping close eye when you are. Listening out for any word in your area of this happening.
(eg there were a few burglaries around our area so we were telling neighbours to be extra careful as were we - in general, not about dogs)
Don't leave your dog tied up somewhere/outside a shop etc, it's rather common for them to get stolen if left like that

Third - I think it really depends, I've had people warn me if I'm walking my dogs not to leave them outside shops or whatever because a friend of theirs dog was stolen etc. Some find their dog (if it was stolen) and can get it back, others have horrible stories like you've told

(just like to point out we do not advocate violence of any kind in these kind of situations, that chap could have had the crap kicked out of him for hitting that man, he was just lucky)

To ensure if your dog does get lost - always ALWAYS microchip and tag your dog/cat. That means if someone finds them, they can check with the local vet and get your details, or can call you from the number on the tag.
I found pup wandering in the road, it took to some man but he was close to kicking it (I got so mad) but I caught it and brought it down to my house and got someone to read the number whilst I held him, turns out the lady wasn't from around here, she was on holidays and had left the pup with a friend (my local corner shop, the wife of the owner) so I trudged round (dunno what breed but damned big!) and rang the doorbell and the husband had no idea they were minding it?? but I gave it to him and all was well.

Not everyone will stop and check if they see a lost dog. Some will ignore, some might steal, it's sad but true.
All anyone can do is keep an eye on their dogs at all times, have them chipped and tagged and just be vigilant.

Orla K

About the violence, yeah that wasn't the best way to go about that and for someone like me 5'4" with tiny hands would have been near impossible.

A few dogs were stolen around the area where Sam&Sandy live the only reason they weren't taken is because they are kept inside at night.

Also Sandy is bit of a rescue dog, when the current owners got her she was very sick and everyone thought she would die. She had a really bad lung infection and her collar was never loosened, as a result of the collar she refuses to wear one now, she still remembers the pain of the last one. If one was put on her she would have it off in seconds, and howls while getting it off. She can't wear collars or tags but on the chip I think that's a must.

I often see dogs wandering around town but they are actually owned but are just left to wander.