Dog Theft

[raineth]

I think it is still rather rare. It just feels like it happens a lot because we talk about it when it happens, but we don't talk about it when it doesn't happen. I for one never post on facebok saying 'I came home, Del still hasn't been stolen'

I think it is more likely to happen when people find the dog loose.

I know quite a few people who found their current dogs and kept them forever. They think that the dog/pup had been abandoned, and they think they have done the right thing by them by keeping them.

I think actively and knowingly stealing a dog would be more rare than that.

[YippeeGirl]

I've seen a few posts on forums where people have found a dog, and decided they are going to keep it without even attempting to find the owners. It blows my mind. Just because a dog is out roaming the streets doesn't necessarily mean it's been abandoned or that its previous owners are neglectful.

It's the same as when people think their rescue dog has been abused simply because they are soft and react adversely to raised voices etc.

I think sometimes saying your dog is stolen gets more attention and is more glamorous than simply saying your dog got out of your yard.

Edited June 12, 2015 by YippeeGirl

[Pretty Miss Emma]

Well pretty much the poll results thus far and what most of you are saying afirms my thoughts.

I agree that no doubt there are dogs stolen, but it probably isn't happening as much as social media would like us to believe. And yep, I reckon people probably do say it was stolen rather than lost - just as they will often surrender an animal as a stray even though they clearly own it.

I think it's awful that it happens, but I also think some people are stupid - in this day and age who leaves a dog tied up anywhere unsupervised (open to theft but also to issues if it bites/growls/etc).

Thanks for your contributions!

[Staffyluv]

I've seen a few posts on forums where people have found a dog, and decided they are going to keep it without even attempting to find the owners. It blows my mind. Just because a dog is out roaming the streets doesn't necessarily mean it's been abandoned or that its previous owners are neglectful.

It's the same as when people think their rescue dog has been abused simply because they are soft and react adversely to raised voices etc.

I think sometimes saying your dog is stolen gets more attention and is more glamorous than simply saying your dog got out of your yard.

I see people, all the time, on the facebook buy, swap & sell pages - find a dog and put the notice only on the page. When I suggest they take the dog to the pound or RSPCA, they won't 'risk' it because the dog might be PTS.

They simply don't get that NOT every person has facebook or even the internet, so may never see their notice and only look at the local pound for their dog..

[Danois]

Yet again on FB I saw something about dog thefts, and in particular the "marking" of properties. What I found funny about the post was that a lot of the "markings" that were on the post are used by council and vicroads to mark repairs that are required to roads/footpaths/concrete manhole covers/etc. Some were unique, but others well I think it's questionable as to whether they are done by dog-nappers or if they are just people marking out where work is going to be completed.

I think there is a lot of hype around dog thefts and a lot of paranoia.

I think dog thefts happen, but I think there is a lot more hype than actual frquency of dog thefts. To be honest I'm not really interested in why dogs are stolen - there is no doubt a range of reasons and none of them are good. But I am interested to see what the frequency actually looks like! I know we are a closed community in asking this question, but maybe it will give a bit of a snapshot. Maybe I'm wrong maybe it is really frequent and I'm being naive (sp??) about it.

Anyway interested in poll responses and any thoughts on this.

I'm always intrigued by this. Don't dog nappers use FB or the internet??

There was a spate of "suspicious vehicle in area" posts in Canberra not long before I left. Dogs WERE being stolen apparently.

I asked the ACT Police. If dogs were being stolen, no one was reporting them.

I honestly think some people get their jollies scaring the bejesus out of dog owners. Yes, it happens. But so do gates left or blown open and dogs that would rival Houdini for escaping.

That was the case here in North West Sydney too - big noise about dog thefts in the area. Police put out the same statement - if it's happening, no one was reporting it to them.

[Guest donatella]

That cross breed pup that got stolen in Melbourne from inside it's home (break and enter) has been found. It was all over the news

[RedFeather]

If I came home and my dog was gone, I would honestly assume he had escaped. Because spitz.

That said, he is very, very pretty and there's no way I would ever leave him tied up outside a shop etc. My husband says the same about the shelties he had growing up. It doesn't help that Basker loves all people and would make friends and follow anyone. Probably wouldn't ever leave him in a front yard either. But it's not enough to stop me letting him outside when I go to work, our fencing is good and honestly he would get crazy and destructive inside even with all the mental stimulation in the world.

[Steph M]

If I came home and my dog was gone, I would honestly assume he had escaped. Because spitz.

:laugh:

[espinay2]

Yes to a friend having a dog stolen. This was about 20 years ago now though. It was a Dalmatian puppy - littermate to mine. It was in the suburban backyard of a breeder in a pen with its littermate. There was a walkway along the back of the yard and they took palings off the fence, went through another pen and stole the puppy. They tried to take the other puppy too, but dropped it when making their getaway. Years later someone who new what happened (but was not one of the thieves - more an accessory after the fact) 'confessed' to the breeder. It was some young males who simply decided they wanted a puppy, so took it. The dog was never recovered.

I also know more recently of a young Leonberger bred by a friend who was stolen (older dog wasn't) on the NSW coast. After a social media and local media campaign the dog became 'too hot' and was dumped by the thieves in/near a railway yard (from memory the dog was seen being dropped off, and then was recognised from the media campaign to reunite it with its owners).

There was also a case last year that I followed on social media of a number of Amstaff pups (from memory) that were stolen in Victoria from their breeder and through the power of social media were recovered from a house in NSW.

These are the three 'verified' cases I know of.From what I understand of the cases these were not the work of organised 'dog napping rings', but were the actions of individuals.

Edited June 16, 2015 by espinay2

[Mumsie]

Many years ago we had a bit of mixed mongrel male that was desexed, we noticed him missing one morning, looked everywhere for him and thought he had escaped, he turned up about 2 days later, filthy dirty. a few months later it happened again, then about a year 2 years later it happened again a couple of times. We know he was taken because the last time we actually heard the car that dropped him off drive away. He was always covered in mud, long hair matted and very hungry. We had checked our yard for escape routes, he was always returned to our closed back yard. Thankfully he never appeared injured, it was very strange.

[raineth]

Many years ago we had a bit of mixed mongrel male that was desexed, we noticed him missing one morning, looked everywhere for him and thought he had escaped, he turned up about 2 days later, filthy dirty. a few months later it happened again, then about a year 2 years later it happened again a couple of times. We know he was taken because the last time we actually heard the car that dropped him off drive away. He was always covered in mud, long hair matted and very hungry. We had checked our yard for escape routes, he was always returned to our closed back yard. Thankfully he never appeared injured, it was very strange.

I have returned loose dogs to their yards quite a few times. I did it again just the other day! Is it possible people were just returning him after he got out?

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I know of several dogs first hand that would travel tens or hundreds of km in attempt to get back to their previous residence.

I don't have any first hand experience of dogs being stolen that I know of, tho I do read of it on forums and FB.

More worried about baiting. There's been quite a bit of dogs being baited around here. Hasn't happened to my dog yet - touch wood.