DOG THEFT...Look out for this car...

crossposted with permission

ALERT of a possible attempted theft from a breeders in Chievely Nr Newbury. The vehicle involved is Burgundy & Grey Subaru with a false Reg No of S461 RGC.PLEASE TAKE EXTRA CARE IF IN THIS AREA.

Although it was a breeder who was targeted, no dogs are safe from people like this. Please can everyone look out, especially along the M4 corridor. The plates are false so please report to police if you see it.

:x Morons like these make me so angry :x

Hope all the babies are safe, Nicki?

Any more news on this?

My understanding was that they didn't get the dogs, thank goodness.

This is pretty scary too...

CRAWLEY area

From Jan, Petsearch: please crosspost.
>
> Quote:
> "Hi,
> We just wanted to let everyone on here know, especially those in the
> Crawley and surrounding areas that there is someone taking dogs out
> of gardens and even breaking into houses to get them.
> Yesterday morning a man jumped over my fence to try and get minka out.
> It was broad daylight, myself and my children were up and even my
> friend who was in my shed at the time did not put this person off.
> It looks like he was throwing food over the fence at some point, as
> we have found food all over the place, but obviously when he didnt
> get her to jump over he thought he'd come in and help her over. Im
> glad she is so lazy now! My poor friend was absolutely terrified and
> she does not scare easily and i only caught the tail end of things as
> i was in the shower and didnt hear the commotion until he was
> scrambling back over the fence.
>
> We use our side gate alot in the summer and it was only when the
> police arrived they noticed someone had tried to crowbar the front
> door open, most likely sometime during the night before. Im so glad
> they didnt manage to get in as Minka see's anybody as potential
> cuddles and would have gone with them.
> The police have said that there is a ring operating in the area and
> to be careful as they are likely to come back for another go. There
> are also advising us to be careful at the local parks and beauty
> spots as there have been incidents of dogs being taken from owners at
> knifepoint.
> They are not fussy about which dogs they take either, as if they cant
> sell them on they are likely to ransom them back to you.
> So anybody in this area please be extra careful when your out walking
> and even in your homes. And please pass this on to any dog owners you
> know.


Sadly we just have to be so careful now...

Oh my goodness that is like hell on earth!! They are stealing dogs to sell them or to ransom them back? How absolutely awful. It is awful to know that you can't even trust your dog in your back yard!! Much less go to dog parks.. ..

Ok so on this issue I have a weird question to ask.. Hypothetically speaking lets say I lived there and I had kosmo. Kosmo was stolen from my back yard and sold to another couple.. If the other couple took him to get micro chipped would the vet then notice that he already has one? Or would now he just have 2? Do they even check to see if a dog has been previously micro chipped before?? Could these incidences be lowered by vets checking for previous chips? Just wondering a concretely cement way to let your dog be tracked back to you?

I am sorry to hear of this Nicki. Good thing I sleep with my alarm on and my baby in the bed, huh?

Is that happening close to you?

HI Sara

Fortunately not close to us, we're very lucky in that we live in a remote area of Scotland...but it is happening a lot down South - England and Wales.

I don't want to panic people, just make people aware of the need to take sensible precautions, such as never leave a dog outside a shop etc

In the UK now, if vets find an existing micro chip, my understanding is that they are supposed to try to contact the original owner...however IN LAW only the microchip belongs to the former owner, if there is a dispute you would have to PROVE ownership with photos etc.

This is a hot issue at the moment, we are trying to get vets to scan every new dog brought into them, and to contact the original owners...but its very hard, especially as many people have bought these dogs in good faith, and are very attached to them.

Microchip is at present the most secure way of identifying your dog...in the UK the law is that they still have to wear an ID tag with YOUR name and address on it..although I would suggest also putting your home and mobile numbers on. Don't put the dog's name on...makes it easier for a thief to call them away, and if you do have to prove ownership and you call the dog by name and it responds, then that will help.


If you are getting a dog microchipped and haven't had them from a pup, please ask the vet to scan first...I think I would do this with any adult now just in case, unless I was 100% sure of their background.

I know some people prefer tattoos, however I've heard so many horror stories of these being burnt off or defaced, and even dogs' ears being cut off to stop them being identified...albeit mainly Greyhounds.

Yikes, this is scary! :shock: I'm thinking about being very careful of 'advertising' that we have cavaliers, whether it be bumper stickers that say "I love my Cav...", etc. I have been very low key about my cavs, because really any thief could follow me home and then learn what our working hours, etc. I can understand why breeders would be targeted if a thief was going to start a puppy mill or something! :shock:

You can also join PetBack - they offer a DNA holding facility to help you prove that you are the owner of a dog if stolen and recovered.

Depending on the level you take out they will also authorise your vet to carry out any operatorion required if they were to be knocked down ( perish the thought......)

I have too heard of these theft stories - I believe its not just pedigrees that are being stolen. These ruthless people know how much our doggy friends mean to us and how much we will do for them and use it to make monetary gains for themselves. They's be better off goin g out and getting a job!!!!!

I have always been a big believer in microchipping. All of our dogs are microchipped and all our puppies are chipped before they leave for their forever home. In addition, all our dogs are DNA'd and all our puppies are also DNA'd in front of the new owners the day they leave. That way there would be no question of ownership or who the sire and dam of a puppy are.

If anyone has a dog that is not chipped, I would really encourage you to have it done. And if I remember correctly, DNA is not terrible expensive, something on the order of $45. You can go to the AKC website and get it done through them.

Yes, my three are microchipped, too!

This whole thing is just awful. Oh the thought of burning or cutting off a tatoo to remove identity.... :swear: That's just outright evil!!!

Both of mine are microchipped and all of this is teaching me to even more vigilant with them. We are redoing our backyard and will have an open iron gate between our back yard and the side yard. This just reinforces my decision even more that we will have a solid wood fence at the front of the house so you can't see into the back. Luckily the back of our house is very inaccessible.

Just scary!!!

Kos was microchipped, but by mistake!! :rotfl: Oh well we got it for free.. and NOTHING beats free!!