# Dog Theft



## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

If like me, you are terrified of having your dog stolen then this is worth watching.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

This problem of dog theft is becoming a nightmare! In the news recently was a kennels with fencing used in lion enclosures, Grade 1 padlocks etc broken into and 13 dogs stolen. There were two litters of puppies and they left one mother behind! Two of the dogs were boarding at the kennels. 
The thieves are travelling round our area breaking into kennels and private houses just to steal dogs. They are following people who are walking their dog and distracting them by asking for help while someone lures the dog away.
Puppies are in short supply and there is high demand due to lock down. They are fetching four figure sums which is what is driving the crime surge.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Is this just UK Pat or all over?

Ray.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

There are reports that they move some of the dogs out of the country to places like Ireland and France but not sure if that has been corroborated? 

Mostly they just sell them on, particularly puppies and cute fluffy breeds. There is huge demand. Then there are the gundogs. They have targeted them for quite a while because a trained gundog fetches thousands. A friend who is in the now told me that they drove over the chain of a guard dog at a kennels and beat it to death in order to get to the gun dogs. They will, also, poison guard dogs to get to the kennels.

There is photographic evidence of them cutting the microchip out of dog before dumping it many miles away from where it was stolen. They do that when they have finished breeding from a bitch or find the dog is neutered or not a trained dog as they expected.

I corresponded with one lady who had bought a "rescue" for £250 from a private house purporting to be a rescue society. They did not even ask for her address! I pleaded with her to get the dog scanned because it might well be a stolen pet.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

There are always adds locally for cats and dogs looking for good homes free. Friends just took the last of a litter of those black puppies that have too much skin for the bodies free. 

Ray.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Seems crazy doesn't it? Loads of dogs in rescue but society now wants designer breeds and cute puppies and they are ready to pay. We have a law in place, now, that prohibits anyone but the breeder from selling puppies under six months of age. So it goes underground. The penalties are ridiculous so they think it is well worth the risk.

One poor elderly lady, who lives alone, had to go into hospital and put her three little dogs in kennels and they were all stolen


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

It's happening in Ireland too.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

I have heard that, Jean


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

My daughter paid £300 for their pooch (I know!!) and now they command £1500 - what???


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

Twas on the East Anglia spot on the news tonight. Maybe you saw it Pat. Kennels broken into and every animal gone! Devaststing!


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Those poor people, Jean 

Cocker Spaniels are now fetching £3,500! The penalty for stealing one is nothing more than a slap on the wrist. A fine and/or suspended sentence. If I were a criminal I would think that was a good return on the risk.

You may well know that there has been a huge effort to deal with puppy farms. It seems that the effect of this is to make the price go up because of the shortage. A prospective whippet owner had put a deposit down on her new puppy, priced at £1,200, and was contacted by the breeder to say that she was now auctioning the puppies at a starting bid of £2,500!


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

patp said:


> A prospective whippet owner had put a deposit down on her new puppy, priced at £1,200, and was contacted by the breeder to say that she was now auctioning the puppies at a starting bid of £2,500!


Isn't it shocking that the breeders are feeding into this??


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

It’s people causing it

Willing to pay stupid prices

If they wouldn’t pay those prices they wouldn’t exist 

Shadows safe only a fool would attempt to steal him 

He would attack first and ask questions afterwards 

Unfortunately 

Which is why we keep a careful eye on him

And he isn’t mellowing with age 

Sandra


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

When he goes as go he must

We won’t have another dog 

Certainly not a puppy as we have not enough years left to raise one 

He’s 121/2 and despite his lack of bowels which should have shortened his life He’s looking pretty good for a large long haired german shepherd 

I recon he’s out to outlive us 

And he just might 

But who is paying those exorbitant prices when dogs homes are full of dogs waiting to be re homed 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

They are blaming lock down for the increase in prices. The "oh lets get the kids a puppy to amuse them" brigade. Breeders that I speak to are not breeding because of this madness. Of course this makes puppies harder to come by and pushes the prices even higher. My discussions with them have led us to believe that there needs to be some sort of national guidelines on puppy pricing. They do have a voluntary code on breeding and rearing but not on pricing.

I paid £1200 for Georgia and I thought that was a bit over the top. She did come from Sussex where prices would be a bit higher. She ticked nearly all my boxes for what I was looking for so I, reluctantly, coughed up. All the puppies were sold once I agreed to buy her so if I was a mug then so were the other owners.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well I wouldn’t know what the going price for any particular breed is

We paid £600 for shadow I think 12 1/2 years ago , but I Can’t honestly can’t remember 

We’ve always bought from private homes and insisted on seeing the dog as well as the bitch, because GS are a large breed 

I recon the terrible trauma that shadow went through when his bowels dropped out changed his temperament for ever 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Those days are long gone, Sandra  I have never paid more than a couple of hundred pounds for a puppy. Mostly I have had rescues and just given a donation. I use to think that puppies should be expensive to make people think carefully before buying. I now think that the price of puppies needs capping so that we can prevent all these dog thefts. There is, however, a shortage of puppies due to the, very welcome, closure of puppy farms. Not sure how it is all going to pan out ?


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

But you have Pat 

You paid £1200 for Georgia 

Why ?

Was there not a a dog that needed you to Rehome it even The same the same breed as Georgia 

And like me as circumstances dictated you could have ended up with a dog from hell

A dog that I love , boy do I love this dog from hell

And boy does he love me 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

I had just lost the rescue dog from hell, that is why, Sandra. During the time that he was here I took on three other dogs in need and so at one time I had four dogs that all had various problems. Before that there was Willow with her Addisons disease that takes as much management as diabetes does. I was tired and needed to raise a dog my way with no health issues (Working Cockers are healthier than most other pedigrees) and with no behaviour issues. Having toured the rescue centres many times before I knew what I was going to find, lots of dogs with behaviour problems. Many rescue centres now ask for about £700 as a donation. Is that fair? Of course it is. They do an amazing job, well most of them do, and their expenses are huge so I would not begrudge them the money. I just could not jump through their hoops again.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Our Border Collie puppy was foc but they can fetch ridiculous prices because people are prepared to pay that.

Partly it is the name "oh, ours is a pedigree Mauritian Truffle Hound" which wil probably never be more than a laphound, carried around in a handbag as a fashion accessory.

That REALLY bugs me, dogs have 4 legs (usually) let them use them.....

I can't imagine Sandra carrying Shadow routinely..... emergency yes, but that's it. Same with Bob - he will NOT be carried......


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Many of those "handbag" dogs end up in rescue too. They become so confused that behaviour issues start to rear their ugly heads. One of my most recent rescues was one such dog. He was a Cockapoo and his owner bought him as a baby substitute. He slept in her bed and she carried him everywhere. When a real baby came along he was discarded. He had terrible issues with being on his own. He could not even cope with being alone in a room. He would destroy the door in order to reach the safety of someones arms. He went to one other home before coming to me when that lady, sadly, died.

Cockerpoos are lovely dogs if you realise that they are basically spaniels. Poodles were spaniels. They need a job to do. Even chihuahuas can be smashing pets if brought up like a dog and not a handbag.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

patp said:


> Even chihuahuas can be smashing pets if brought up like a dog and not a handbag.


Ha ha ha, lovely observation Pat. 
We could never replace our old Lab/Dane so make do with petting everyone else's dog or cat. But it is usually the owner who really does need the training.

Ray.


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