The
Saluki ‘Silver’ missing since May 1st.
OWNERS
of pedigree dogs across the UK are living in fear of what
appears to be an organised crime ring – or individual
crime rings – stealing pedigree dogs to order or for
ransom.
Although the police forces in various counties treat the thefts
as random, isolated incidents, there is nothing random or
isolated about the escalating number of thefts. The crime
syndicate’s modus operandi is to make careful observations
of the dogs they intend to steal – usually from dog owners
who breed or exhibit their dogs regularly at shows and who,
in many cases, live in isolated homes. Then the gang move
in when the owners are not about and steal the dogs they require.
The thieves sometimes contact the distraught owners and demand
a "ransom" – usually hundreds of pounds –
for the dogs’ safe return. Sometimes the thieves are
far more blatant and simply approach a dog walker and steal
the dog from the owner.
Highlighted
The situation has become worse in recent months and many animal
charities and rescue organisations are urging dog owners to
be on their guard. The BBC’s Crimewatch programme highlighted
dog theft on this week’s edition.
Part of the problem is that police forces are reluctant to
list dogs as stolen, preferring to enter all such crimes as
merely the dog being ‘lost’ or ‘going missing’.
Two years ago, an organised dog-stealing ring was operating
in various counties in southern England, with Kent being one
of the counties where dog thefts were highest. OUR DOGS spoke
to Kent police and asked them how many dog thefts they had
listed in their area.
A spokesman for Kent police declined to make an official comment,
but said that, having made enquiries at several Kent police
stations said: "We do not have a problem with dog thefts
in the area and I can find none listed." When challenged
about the sheer number of thefts in the past three months,
the spokesman repeated, "We do not have a problem that
I am aware of." This was a clear example of how one police
force chose, for the sake of expediency (and better crime
figures) to list the dogs as ‘missing’ rather stolen.
Several instances of dog theft have been traced to travellers,
and here again, dog owners face further problems, as police
are reluctant to enter traveller’s sites unless they
have cast iron evidence of stolen goods being located there.
According to some officers, there is very real danger of assault
or inflaming tensions by entering such sites.
However, not all police officers are reluctant to investigate
canine crime, although the recording of such crimes is very
much down to each individual force.
Sgt Eddie McDonald of Northants Police is perhaps more aware
than most of his colleagues of the seriousness of dog theft.
Eddie is an exhibitor of Rhodesian Ridgebacks, showing under
the Anamcara affix.
"When I’ve discussed dog thefts with my colleagues,
their initial response is ‘Oh, it’s only a dog’,
but I find myself saying to them ‘Well, to you it’s
just a dog, but the owner it’s part of the family’
and I explain my feelings for my dogs which are very deep,
even though I do have children. I honestly think that a non-dog
owner cannot truly understand the depth of feeling a dog owner
feels for their pet.
"And of course you can’t just look at it in financial
terms, but that is undoubtedly an aspect. If a young bitch
is stolen, there’s not only the cost of the dog, there’s
the possible future litters and puppy sales to be taken into
account, not to mention the potential damage to a winning
bloodline. When all’s said and done, looking at it in
the most basic of terms, the dog is a valuable piece of property,
and for it to be stolen is just as bad as having a car or
household items stolen.
"Then there’s ‘dog napping’. In human
a kidnapping, there would be the serious offences of Kidnapping
itself or Blackmail, requiring the involvement of trained
investigators/teams. This is a very nasty crime, equally so
when applied to dogs, as the thieves are coercing money from
devoted owners."
As to why dogs are being stolen, Eddie believe there are several
reasons: "Some people like the idea of owning a pedigree
dog and would think nothing of buying one ‘from a bloke
in the pub’, even if it hasn’t got papers, simply
because most people aren’t aware of how you go about
buying a dog. Some are undoubtedly used for hare coursing
– usually the Sighthound and Lurcher types. Another recent
suggestion is that animals, including dogs, are stolen for
vivisection or experimental purposes, where expensive, specially
bred, disease-free animals are not required.
Eddie does not believe, however, that many dogs are stolen
for use in dog fighting. "I’ve spoken at length
to senior investigators in the RSPCA and they share the view
that very few dogs are stolen for organised dog fighters to
‘test’ their dogs on. Similarly, they tend not to
steal dogs to use in breeding with fighting dogs; they guard
their bloodlines as carefully as exhibitors, it would make
no sense for them to introduce random bloodlines into their
breeding programmes."
Politically, dog theft appears to have little or no standing
– certainly not as far as the Government is concerned.
Syndicate
Two years ago, Malcolm Moss, Conservative MP for North East
Cambridgeshire has called for a national campaign to make
dog owners aware of the canine crime syndicate and has called
on the Government (Home Office) to take action.
"This is a national problem and it needs addressing nationally,"
said Mr Moss. "From the evidence I have seen, it is an
organised crime ring which operates with inside knowledge
and steals peoples’ pets."
"The Home Office cannot allow this to go by default and
I will be demanding concerted action. If anybody was extorting
money from shopkeepers on a national basis in this same manner,
then there would be an outcry and action would be taken by
the police.
"Dog owners have a right to the same protection of the
law as any other taxpaying citizen and I intend once again
to make this point very clearly to the Minister and demand
that these cases are taken seriously."
Mr Moss wrote to Jim Denham, Minister of State for the Police
at the Home Office, expressing his concerns, especially at
the lack of interest from police forces around the country.
He received no reply until OUR DOGS contacted Mr Denham’s
office. The Minister dismissed Mr Moss’s calls for action,
preferring to cite the ‘official’ dog theft figures
kept by police forces – i.e. few if any.
Eddie McDonald tried to interest the Home Office in an official
project investigation dog theft under the Home Office Police
Research Award (HOPRA) Scheme. In his application to the Home
Office for funding under HOPRA, Eddie drew on figures that
he had managed to compile form some policed forces that bother
to list dog thefts, whilst also alluding to the wealth of
material available via the canine press.
The submission states:
There appears to an increase, over the last few years, in
the incidents of dogs being stolen, lost or straying. Very
few are recovered.
e.g. In the previous three years, South Yorkshire Police have
110-recorded crimes where dogs have been stolen.
There is an increase each year:
99 – 2000 28 crimes
00 – 2001 33 crimes
01 – 2002 48 crimes
only 20 of these crimes were detected, with only six of those
resulting in the return of the dog.
The majority of these thefts are in the location of the family
residence (burglary dwelling 27%, and theft from garden 44.5%).
The Project hopes to examine the issue of dog theft, specifically
to establish any currant trends, identify what is being done
to tackle it and to offer practical solutions to individuals,
the Police and other agencies, thereby improving crime prevention
and detection.
Sadly, the Home Office turned Eddie’s application down,
although he is not content to let matters rest there and hopes
to produce a comprehensive report ‘privately’ in
conjunction with charities, the Kennel Club and other official
bodies.
In the meantime, dog owners are urged to take sensible precautions
to prevent dog theft, by having their pets microchipped or
tattoos – the latter of course being visible and a serious
deterrent to thieves attempting to ’fence’ a stolen
dog, not leaving dogs alone in gardens or outside shops and
being wary of strangers calling or coming up to them to express
an interest in their dog
Up to 80% of exhibitors at dog shows have now taken advantage
of a recent KC ruling which prevents them from having their
address and telephone number details listed in show catalogues,
making it more difficult for thieves to track the owners down
with a view to stealing their dogs.
List of organisations to help in the case of dog theft
Doglost.co.uk
- an internet based dog registration scheme, actively helps
find dogs as well as providing info on missing dogs in all
areas. It operates a website but can be contacted by phone.
For a £36 fee it will create a missing poster showing
a photo of the dog and distribute it to all vets, pet shops,
dog wardens and rescue centres within a 30-mile radius of
your home. It was featured on Radio 4's Today programme on
16th Nov 2002 and on BBC 1's Inside out on 10th Feb this Year.
Tel: 01909 733366 or www.doglost.co
uk
Lostpets is free and lists lost and found pets across England,
Wales and Scotland www.lostpets.co.uk
LostDogs UK is a website which lists lost or stolen dogs in
the UK and Eire. It is free and displays the dog's description,
last known whereabouts and who to contact if you have any
info.
Petsearch(UK) is free and collates and reports lost or found
animals and displays the most recently lost or found animal
first. www.Petsearch(UK)
PetBack Central is a 24 hour hot line launched in 2003 by
the Missing Pets Bureau. For immediate assistance phone 0870
1 999 999. Claims to work with 10,000 pet care organisations
and provides two other services to owners: free one year optional
lifetime protection for a pet which includes a pet ID tag
linked to a 24 hour lost and found service, and free microchip
registration. It transfers details of missing pets into a
missing pets register which links to the RSPCA, Battersea
etc.
Owners can also choose PetBack Notify, which sends details
of missing dogs on a highly targeted basis to vets, rescue
centres, dog warden and police stations in the area where
the pet went missing. Tel: 08701 6000999
Lurcher Search "An organisation whose aim is to reunite
lost and stolen Lurchers and Running Dogs with their owners.
Operates through a network of countrywide volunteers who receive
information about lost and stolen dogs and then circulate
these details to rescue centres, dog wardens, police etc.
In this way, there is a better chance that a lost dog will
be recovered. http://www.lurcher.org/lsuk/
Meanwhile, dog thefts are on the increase, with thieves adopting
ever more audacious methods of seizing dogs. On April 1st, a
36 year-old woman had been walking her pedigree Bulldog in Peartree
Park, Stevenage, Herts. at about 12 noon when the two men approached
her and tried to grab the dog. When the woman resisted, one
of the thieves drew a knife and slashed her across the stomach
before running off empty handed.
She was taken to Lister Hospital, where she was treated for
her injuries and released later the same evening. The dog was
unhurt.
Detective Sergeant Paul Brogden of Hertfordshire Police said:
"This was a terrifying ordeal for the woman and a very
serious incident, I would ask anyone who was in the area at
the time of the offence to contact me urgently. These types
of offences are extremely rare but people who own pedigree dogs
are reminded to be vigilant."
Both attackers are described as being unkempt in appearance,
white, with Irish accents. They are both around 40 years old
and around 5 foot 10 inches tall.
Saluki stolen in front of owner
A
Silver Saluki was stolen from its owner’s garden by three
men who made a quick getaway before the owner could give chase.
The ten-month-old dog named ‘Silver’ was stolen
from the home of Libby and David Mander on 1st May.
On the evening in question, the Manders had been in their
garden photographing their young Salukis – including
Silver – for a potential purchaser.
They put dogs into the garden then came into the house for
supper. Alerted by the sound of barking, David went to investigate
and found 3 men walking up drive. The men stopped at the five
bar gate halfway down the drive. They asked David for directions
to main A45 road, which David did not consider unusual, as
people were often getting lost en route to the A45.
The older of the men spoke with an Irish accent and had a
distinctive S-shaped scar on his face. He was of average build
around 5’9" with dark, short, brown curly hair.
30s. The other men were younger and stockier, casually dressed
but not scruffy.
David gave them directions, at which point one of them asked
if he could call them a taxi. David refused, as he was suspicious
of the men and advised them that there was a call box nearby
in the village. The men left and David walked back towards
the house, the dogs following.
Suddenly, the dogs started barking again, at which point Libby
saw the men coming back down the drive
One of the younger men leaned over the gate and grabbed Silver,
who was jumping, and ran off with him. David ran after them
and heard the slamming of doors, round the bend in the drive
then a black ‘Golf-type’ car screeched away, with
the men and Silver inside, the car having obviously been concealed.
David gave chase in his car, but could not find them. As several
main motorways converge on the A45, the car could have gone
in any direction.
Libby Mander told OUR DOGS: "The Saluki Club has been
very supportive, as have the RSPCA and Lurcher Search. Our
Local police were very good and investigated the theft carefully
and logged it as a theft. We’ve put up posters, all police
stations have been notified and the theft was covered on BBC
Midlands Today."
The couple are anxious to trace Silver, who is a very distinctive
Silver Grizzle dog. He is tattooed – Tattoo Number M7A0153.
If you have information regarding Silver’s theft, please
contact Libby and David on: 01676-522362. Or call PC 454 Paula
Dunphy on: 01675-464444 ext 3520
l With thanks to Helen Graham for the above listings compiled
by her.
