Can Anything Be Done About Dog Thefts?

[Untitled]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/stories-55356211

Dog thefts at an all time high due to spike in demand for dogs while in lock down. Says in the video that two organised crime gangs are known to have abandoned selling drugs in order to focus on dogs because they are more profitable now and the penalties if you get caught are much lighter.

What can be done about this problem? It is truly distressing these animals are true companions to so many families and they are treated abominably.

[riptide]

Well, to start with, how are people getting access to these animals. People should never leave their dogs outside Supermarkets, unlocked gardens, bad fencing in gardens, etc. I have never left my dogs in cars, outside Supermarkets or unattended. Always get them neutered, this is another reason they steal them, to breed. It is a sad world and what disgusting people they are to steal people’s beloved pets.

[Untitled]

The gangs involved very often use violence - in the video there are people who say their dogs were stolen at knife point, others had people break into their houses to steal their dog. A kennel owner is interviewed who says the gangs broke in despite fences cctv etc. It is not just negligence on the part of the owner it could happen to anyone.

[ladybirder]

It's just one distressing thing after another on here this morning. I should have stayed in bed.
As the thieves are using violence and breaking into houses to take them there is only one thing I can suggest. That is get yourself a gun! Then of course if you have to use it you'll be the one in the wrong! It's a sad state of affairs, upping the sentence to 5 years for stealing a dog might help.

[Old_Geezer]

One can only refuse to buy any hot dogs, and hope the lack of demand closes the market.

[pixie374]

There seems to have been an awful spate of it recently. You can sell any dog for a lot of money at the moment. And I don't think it's being taken seriously enough.
I have also seen about people hed at knifepoint on a walk, while dogs are taken, people jumping over walls into gardens...
You would hope with microchipping being a legal requirement, it should be harder to sell these dogs on.

[shoota]

They cut the chips out Pixie.
I worry for my cockers as I had three people from Ireland try to lure them away from me once; one distracted me the other two tried to grab my old girls collar and move away. Fortunately they failed and the whistle brought them back to me. Had they had a knife it would have been very different.
When I sold my last litter the price of a pedigree cocker was £650 - £850, nowadays the average price for a cocker is £2,900.
Gundog breeds seem to be especially popular with these lowlifes.

[Patsy33]

I don't kniw what else can be done, when we see what we're up against. Everyday, I am sharing 2-3 posts on face book, where people have had their beloved dogs stolen. Absolutely heart Breaking.

[pixie374]

Yes, a lot of spaniels.... and all mine are (one half). I recently saw a litter of Cavaliers for sale for £3,500 each... and all were already reserved.

[rockyracoon]

There has been a bad spat of it round here lately. Two beautiful red chow chows were stolen but fortunately, the owners got a lot of traction on Facebook and they got them back. There have been reports of violence, especially against the elderly. I read on Facebook, that a woman was walking her great big rottweiller and 2 scumbags tried to take it. Thankfully, the dog didn't want to taken and caused a ruckus.

The people that buy them are as big a problem as the thieves. How do you live with yourself knowing you've bought a dog that is someone's family.

[pixie374]

Rocky, I don't think everyone is aware they are stolen. They might be advertised as rescues.
As shoota says, if there is no chip... there is no way of proving otherwise.

[wolf63]

To a non-animal person, it doesn't seem like much of a crime but it is getting out of hand. It causes so much hurt within the dog's home and friends.

Stealing, or attempting to steal, a Rottweiller is either foolhardy or the thieves have knowledge of the dog's temperament.

I doubt that the punishment for such a crime is high enough to punish the bad guys. Maybe they should get the Police K9s onto the investigations.

[wolf63]

Pixie - they 'could' use DNA to prove the dog's identity but it would be complicated to manage such a system.

[Untitled]

We could increase the penalty for it... not the whole solution obviously as you still have to catch them but one problem according to the link is that the penalty for stealing and trafficking dogs is much lighter than selling illegal drugs: a fine when you are potentially making millions from selling them, a lot of these crooks think its worth the risk.

[Untitled]

Many people are not aware that they are buying stolen dogs but at the same time the buyers really do need to be more careful and ask more questions. People buying dogs from such people must be willing to do an awful lot of looking the other way.

[pixie374]

Good idea, woof. And maybe that's what it will take.

[pixie374]

Wolf... sorry x

[pixie374]

Untitled, when you get an older, unwanted dog, as I did... there was no real way of knowing, until I had her and the vets checked the microchip to see she wasn't recorded as "missing or stolen".

[rockyracoon]

I don't buy that Pixie. If it's a rescue, it should be with a charity. I think most buyers don't want to think about what they're doing.

[rockyracoon]

Also, so many dogs with no info on the chip. Are these scumbags able to wipe them so it's blank?

[rockyracoon]

I think it should be law that when dogs are first taken to a vet, the owner should provide proof that they are registered owner on the chip.