Are they right? Dog kidnapping....

makeandcreate

Would you be worried about someone trying to lift (steal) your dog? Since I re homed my dog it has been mentioned several times by total strangers in different situations (EBT) but before that I had Boxers and before that Newfoundlands and it wasn't ever said to me. Is it the breed, a sign of the times, were I live or something else?
Are you worried about your dog being spirited away? Did it happen to you?

aonb

Are you saying that strangers have commented on YOUR dog? (it was unclear what you meant)

There are certain breeds of dogs that attract an unwelcome types notice Im afraid. There are people out there who would steal a dog for (1) its hunting capabilities (e.g. terriers/lurchers/sighthounds etc etc) (2) bulls and other fighting types and (3) dogs for breeding - pure breeds/popular breeds

I help with a rescue - we constantly hear stories about dogs being stolen from gardens/yards.

I was approached by men in a van on our quiet lane asking about/"admiring" my dogs breed (patterdales) - I immediately told them that the dogs were neutered, and were hopeless hunters and useless lumps etc.

Something to be aware of for sure unfortunately

cocker5

Unfortunately dogs being stolen… used for dog fight baiting, breeding or being tied to the back of trailer in some god for saken halting site is all too common now in Ireland.

I know of at least 5 people whose dogs disappeared, 3 “ended up” on halting sites (stolen for back gardens) and were “bought” back eventually after lots of negotiations… 2 vanished… nothing
”One being the infamous Naz (Nastro) who is still missing 11 weeks on – despite being micro chipped, neutered and he had an ID collar on whe he went missing.

And as for the dog given “away free to a good home” – on the likes on done deal and adverts… I would say only 5% of the owners do home checks and even at that you still CANNOT be sure the dog will be looked after… and won’t be passed on to scum bags

It’s a cruel, cruel world out there, and I’m sorry to go back to age old saying “a dog is for life”… get a dog and keep it for life is the ONLY way of knowing that it will live a good life etc – that’s my opinion away.
If you cannot offer a dog a good home for his / her its entire life then don’t get one… yes situations change.. dogs adapt there are ALWAYS ways and means to make things work but most people take the easy way out and get “rid of their dog” …. In Ireland dogs are disposable.

seamus

As above, dogs that can be used for hunting or ratting, or stronger breeds that are good for dog fighting, are very popular with a certain section of the community.

Hunting dogs are often pretty useless if they haven't been raised as hunters from a young age, but an intact male or bitch means you can breed your own. Sanitary and medical concerns are not high on these peoples' agendas, so their dogs die young from injury and infection, many bitches die during or after labour. So they're always on the lookup for a new one. Another good reason to spay a dog and put "I'm neutered" that on their collar tag.

Bull breeds are always at risk, for these scumbags it's not about the skill of the dog, just the fight. So even if the dog is a complete softy, once they look the part and will give a good 30 second fight, they'll be of interest.

That said, I've spoken to some people who've found themselves being trailed by travellers who had been asking them about their little dog. Small dogs may be used as bait dogs for dog fights.

In general, I would never leave a dog in a back garden while there's no-one at home. A secure run (with a roof) at the very least makes it more difficult, but ideally if you can keep the dog in the house or a secure shed, you should.

Ashbx

I think its part of the times but mostly depends on breeds. Ive had one guy in particular ask me one too many questions about my border collie. I have two dogs and doesn't even ask about my terrier at all. Much like aonb, I told him the collie is neutered and lied and said she has loads of health issues etc. I don't even let strangers know my dogs names!

Unfortunately my neighbours yorkie got taken from her garden! Owner was standing by the window, looked away for 2 mins and the dog was gone! Its very sad!

Latatian

Ashbx wrote: »

Unfortunately my neighbours yorkie got taken from her garden! Owner was standing by the window, looked away for 2 mins and the dog was gone! Its very sad!

Many years ago we had a dog go missing. It was at a party, the dog was milling around outside socializing, got into the next field for a sniff, and someone lifted him- sorry, rescued him. We were calling and calling and calling the dog but no joy, obviously as soon as it was missing everyone panicked.

We managed to work out who it was by calling around all the neighbours, and went to theirs and got the dog back. Odd situation. I am reasonably sure that they genuinely thought they were rescuing the dog- but it's interesting that their house was full of small similar fluffy cute dogs. I wonder had he been mixed breed, larger, neutered, not friendly etc. would he have been picked up still?

Now in a situation like that the dog is either directly in my sight or else shut into a room or with the leash stuck under the table leg. Less socialization for the dog, but safer.

Between this sort of thing and idiots who will take your dog's collar off* I want a collar that can be padlocked on and has a riveted plate with my name and number on it. Wonder if anyone sells those?

*I had a friend who used to do this with my dog, drove me up the wall- or people who find the dog can take the collar off to read the tag and then lose the do.

deadlybuzzman

My wife pulled up at a filling station at the weekend. She looked to her left and a traveller was staring in the window at our dog (an APBT) When she came out of the filling station he was walking back around the car staring at the dog.
I've asked around since and his family are apparently well known for dog fighting

A neighbour was doing some maintenance on a house after his tenants had left when a neighbour came over. She told him they used to see dogs in his backyard but never for more than a few days then he would have a different dog.
It was only when she recognised one of the dogs off a missing poster that she realised what was going on.
Hopefully chipping dogs will make theives think twice

Cherry Blossom

Micro chipping will never affect a thief. A thief will never take a dog they have stolen to be scanned so how would it make any difference. The only difference it would make is when a stolen dog is subsequently discarded and found. The thief will be long gone.

deadlybuzzman

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Micro chipping will never affect a thief. A thief will never take a dog they have stolen to be scanned so how would it make any difference. The only difference it would make is when a stolen dog is subsequently discarded and found. The thief will be long gone.

My thinking is that demand for dodgy dogs will drop if people think they'll get done for possession of stolen goods especially if it's not that big a deal to get a legit dog.
Obviously it won't affect dogs being stolen to be used as bait dogs

cocker5

deadlybuzzman wrote: »

My thinking is that demand for dodgy dogs will drop if people think they'll get done for possession of stolen goods especially if it's not that big a deal to get a legit dog.
Obviously it won't affect dogs being stolen to be used as bait dogs

Honestly stolen or not the guards don't care at all..

the same people I know above who "paid" to get their dogs back from the travellers - their dogs were micro chipped / registered.. made no difference. guards were called answer was "we found him wandering misses". UNLESS you have CCTV footage of the breaking into your garden and nicking a dog the chip is useless.. IMO its really just to locate owners of wandering dogs - will not help prevent dogs getting stolen.

Next thing will be the scum bags will be carving the micro chips from the dogs neck etc...

My dog has always been micro chipped he is now 11 and i do believe they are excellent in helping reunite lost dogs that's as far as its goes.

Cherry Blossom

I only know one person who got a stolen dog back. The person is very high profile here in Donegal and Facebook exploded with all the shares. The thief thought better of it and the dog miraculously reappeared at the back of his house during the night.

cocker5

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

I only know one person who got a stolen dog back. The person is very high profile here in Donegal and Facebook exploded with all the shares. The thief thought better of it and the dog miraculously reappeared at the back of his house during the night.

God i wish my friends were as lucky, they have over 16,000 facebook followers for Naz's facebook page.. they were on TV3, on 98FM, article in the Independent, the wicklow times, the sun etc.. even offered €5,000 reward.... and nothing :(

to say they are literally heartbroken is a understatement

Cherry Blossom

I think it was the speed it all happened cocker5. The dog was only taken in the afternoon. This fella is a world champion in his sport and a bit of an idol for the kids to aspire to be like. It was all walks of life that were sharing rather than just doggy people, The dog was litteraly too hot to handle in the space of a few hours. Us mere mortals wouldn't have a chance of that much exposure in a short time frame. The dog was back that night.

cocker5

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

I think it was the speed it all happened cocker5. The dog was only taken in the afternoon. This fella is a world champion in his sport and a bit of an idol for the kids to aspire to be like. It was all walks of life that were sharing rather than just doggy people, The dog was litteraly too hot to handle in the space of a few hours. Us mere mortals wouldn't have a chance of that much exposure in a short time frame. The dog was back that night.

Thats such a good story thank god they got their dog back... one of the lucky ones!

frash

Just wondering if it's worth putting "neutered" on the dog tag?

It might not stop the stealing but maybe it would make then dump the dog not long after it was stolen. I know it can be hard to tell straight away for female dogs if they were neutered.

tk123

I have chipped & spayed/neutered on Lucy and Bailey's tags. Lucy gets a lot of attention because she's 'cute' .. when she was missing last year for maybe an hour my biggest fear apart from her being run over and killed was that somebody would just pick her up in a passing car and take her! Luckily she was found by somebody from the area and they called me straight away.

George Michael

wish i hadnt read this thread. dog fighting is the one thing that horrifies me. surely there isnt much dog fighting happening. at least i hope not

cocker5

George Michael wrote: »

wish i hadnt read this thread. dog fighting is the one thing that horrifies me. surely there isnt much dog fighting happening. at least i hope not

Its rife in Ireland that and puppy farming which is equally as horrifying!
So many dogs turning up dumped, with horrific injuries turns out they were stolen... its quiet common here (amongst the scum of Ireland )and its something dog owners need to be very aware of in order to protect their dogs.

cocker5

tk123 wrote: »

I have chipped & spayed/neutered on Lucy and Bailey's tags. Lucy gets a lot of attention because she's 'cute' .. when she was missing last year for maybe an hour my biggest fear apart from her being run over and killed was that somebody would just pick her up in a passing car and take her! Luckily she was found by somebody from the area and they called me straight away.

Me too! I have both our numbers on his tag, plus he's micro-chipped, plus neutered, plus need medication (total lie) but hey whatever deters people!

George Michael

cocker5 wrote: »

Its rife in Ireland that and puppy farming which is equally as horrifying!
So many dogs turning up dumped, with horrific injuries turns out they were stolen... its quiet common here (amongst the scum of Ireland )and its something dog owners need to be very aware of in order to protect their dogs.

dog fighting is sickening. really breaks my heart to think that it is happening. wish they had better heavier sentences for those who engage in it

eezipc

cocker5 wrote: »

George Michael wrote: »

wish i hadnt read this thread. dog fighting is the one thing that horrifies me. surely there isnt much dog fighting happening. at least i hope not

Its rife in Ireland that and puppy farming which is equally as horrifying!
So many dogs turning up dumped, with horrific injuries turns out they were stolen... its quiet common here (amongst the scum of Ireland )and its something dog owners need to be very aware of in order to protect their dogs.

It seems to be very common. The wife volunteers with an animal charity and they get reports all the time. It is quite common (especially in the Travelling community) for people to steal dogs for "training" purposes. Basically to train their own dog to kill.

eezipc

frash wrote: »

Just wondering if it's worth putting "neutered" on the dog tag?

It might not stop the stealing but maybe it would make then dump the dog not long after it was stolen. I know it can be hard to tell straight away for female dogs if they were neutered.

Depends what they are stolen for. If it's for fighting then they don't care if the dog is neutered or not. I think the best thing to write on the dogs tag is "I really love sh*****g & p******g in cars".

cocker5

George Michael wrote: »

dog fighting is sickening. really breaks my heart to think that it is happening. wish they had better heavier sentences for those who engage in it

Heavier sentences?? there are no sentences for any animal cruelty in Ireland.. Hit them where it hurts... in the pocket with a €10k and jail time - s*ck f*ckers...

Puppy farming is just as bad.. dogs are kept in HORRENDOUS conditions.. with no freedom in sight - both are equally bad IMO

cocker5

eezipc wrote: »

It seems to be very common. The wife volunteers with an animal charity and they get reports all the time. It is quite common (especially in the Travelling community) for people to steal dogs for "training" purposes. Basically to train their own dog to kill.

Yip stolen dogs are used for "training" the scummers dogs.. the smaller the better!! and short haired ones are more favourable too.. the more damage the other dog can do... :mad: