Probable attempt to steal my dogs

iguana

This afternoon my dogs were out the back when we heard them start to bark like crazy. I was upstairs putting the toddler down for his nap but my husband went out and saw a man trying to get in our side gate. When my husband went out to him, the man pretended to knock on the window and asked if he could 'take one or both of them off our hands.' When he was told no, he asked to buy them, asked where we got them, if they are good hunters, were male/female, neutered, etc. He kept asking questions and was quite hard to get rid of.

We're very nervous of leaving them in the garden now. We certainly won't be doing it if we aren't home, which is a shame as while they are mostly house dogs, they have an outside bed too, as they have a lot more freedom to play in the garden.:( We're near the Ballysimon Roundabout.

Poxyshamrock

You should ring the Gardai at Roxboro and give them a description of the man.

irishproduce

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

You should ring the Gardai at Roxboro and give them a description of the man.

But sure nothing will come of it...

shruikan2553

irishproduce wrote: »

But sure nothing will come of it...

He may be known to the gardai and if any dogs in the area disappear they know who to look for. More can come out of it by reporting it rather than ignoring it.

In these situations I think it's best to say they are neutered/spayed, no use for breeding then.

Hooked

Cheers for the heads up OP! Our 2 are house dogs too, but have an outside den and area. And I'm not too far from where you are.

Thanks again!

GrumpyMe

What else was he going to take "...off your hands..." - anything he could get his hands on I'd guess!

Un Croissant

The OH is nearby too. One dog is a full time outdoor dog. The other dog is a house dog but goes outside for a good bit of the day.

littlemisshobo

OP; I think it might he a good idea to let Limerick Animal Welfare know about this, they can spread the word via their Facebook page.

An option could be to set up a security camera, Aldi/Lidl often gave good deals on ones that link with your email. This with a sign about the camera would be a good deterrent. You can't watch them all the time if they are outside so it might be worth looking into.

Are you friendly enough with your neighbours or do you have a residents committee? The more people on the look out, the better.

I'm glad you guys were home & that your dog's are safe.

Kess73

GrumpyMe wrote: »

What else was he going to take "...off your hands..." - anything he could get his hands on I'd guess!

Was thinking that when I read the first post. That guy could just as easily have been checking out the house.

Would agree with Poxyshamrock with regards to reporting it to the Gardai. Basically this guy came onto the property, was having a good look at the dogs and/or house, and was brazen enough to stand there when caught.

As others have said, he may already be known to gardai, and him being reported could be what helps to put him off of coming back to the dogs or house.

iguana

My husband called the guards who were glad he rang them. The guard he spoke to agreed that it was almost certainly an attempt to take one or both of them as they are a gundog breed. He said they are a big draw to dog thieves. We'll let LAW know tomorrow.

irishproduce

iguana wrote: »

My husband called the guards who were glad he rang them. The guard he spoke to agreed that it was almost certainly an attempt to take one or both of them as they are a gundog breed. He said they are a big draw to dog thieves. We'll let LAW know tomorrow.

So basically your husband got some opinion from gardai.
Because it sounds like that is all he got.
The same opinion as you got from posters here.

While reporting it to gardai is the virtuous thing and what we are supposed to do, it's really a waste of time - I am speaking about these low level incidents such as stealing dogs, oil, tools from garden etc. You'd be better off getting your gun (I am assuming you have guns with gun dogs) out and walking into the backyard to ask the intruder why is he on your property. You know he will not be back at least. Then post here to let others know in case he is around their area.

I am sorry if my opinion is not in sync with others but in fairness, the gardai are occupied with much bigger problems such that in situations like yours, you are likely to get their opinion on the matter as opposed to what action they are taking to catch the person to make sure they don't do it again.

If they have outlined what they are going to do, I would like to know what it is they will do to protect your right to not have your property intruded upon.