Dog owners say they are too scared to walk their pets alone amid a 170% surge in dognapping over the last year.
Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne organised a survey to gauge public opinion.
At present, dog theft is not defined as a specific crime, with dogs classed as ‘property’ under the Theft Act 1968.
Do not see many around here walking on their own any more, not sure if this is the reason or just want company.
A few who would put up a fight for sure to protect their pet.
I live in a small village where there are loads of dog owners .
Many never seem to allow the poor animals off the lead .
Mostly because they are aggressive and want to fight other dogs .we have not had any dog napping yet but I no longer tie my dog up outside a shop .
Thieves don’t pick on 22 year old six foot rugby players and their dogs they choose women children or the elderly .
Never been a dog owner in the UK but if I was there with my best buddy, Tex and somebody tried to take him from me I think between the two of us we could take care of the situation. And even if we didn’t prevail my god they would sustain some damage that they wouldn’t get over in a hurry. I know Tex would die protecting me so I am prepared to do the same for him. There would be bits of dog napper from Brighton to Inverness…:twisted:
That is a cute dog Keezoy
Dog nappers are targeting certain breeds and they are not Rottweilers or Mallinois .
Spaniels and French bulldogs are popular as these fetch most money and are generally rather timid dogs …
I believe you are serious and can see why.
A lot of warnings around this area of dogs being taken , people have posted about men watching them or approaching their dogs , whistling the dogs when off lead . A photo was snapped of a van after a lady alone walking in the woods saw two men whistling her dog off lead . Obviously police are aware . It’s awful
The police may be aware but dog stealing is not high on their priorities it is classed as ‘petty crime ‘ it is I understand dealt with by the council who basically can’t do anything .
In my country of wiltshire which is a very large country there are only two dog wardens .
Policing Minister Kit Malthouse said: “Losing a much loved family pet can cause great distress and it’s a sad fact that criminals will seek to profit by this vile crime.
“We are taking action to cut crime by bolstering the police with 20,000 extra officers and our £20 million Safer Streets Fund will provide Police and Crime Commissioners with additional cash to spend on crimes such as theft.
“Pet theft is a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment and it must be confronted wherever it occurs.”
Have you ever heard of anyone being convicted for dog theft ?
Glad you like my Texie Boy.:)…He’s a stumpy tail Australian cattle/ staffy cross and he’s 3. He loves people and other dogs and gets on with everybody. But he has a very protective side and is an excellent if very noisy guard dog. He’s not a real big dog. Medium sized at the most. But he’s as strong as an Ox, very fit and fast. My son was out with him one night. Tex had darted into a clump of bushes when a group of “not so useful” characters got a bit verbally abusive to Peter in the park. They didn’t see Tex until he was on them. He didn’t touch them but his growl alone was enough to send them running. We say almost every day how lost we’d be without him. I freely admit his is spoiled but we can’t help it.
Do not expect anybody has and less likely anybody will be convicted.
Raising awareness of the increases in this offence so that dog owners can take extra precautions to prevent it, without breaking the law.
I am always sharing dog thefts on Facebook .
The idea is to make the dog too ‘hot’ to handle .
Sometimes dogs are recovered .
https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/18715620.49-stolen-dogs-recovered-st-mary-cray-traveller-site/
I believe Nottingham are the first Police Force in the country to appoint a specific officer to deal with dog thefts.
I live in a very rural area but only at the weekend three men were arrested for attempted dog theft in a small town about 10 miles away. Back in the summer granddaughter’s boyfriend’s sheepdog was stolen and turned up at a vets in Somerset - he was chipped - as all dogs are supposed to be now. Details were uptodate and Murphy was returned to his owner.
There was a report recently about lots of dogs being recovered from a travellers’ camp. I don’t remember hearing subsequently that anyone had been arrested or charged with dog theft. Probably impossible to identify which of the travellers was the culprit - so what do you do? Arrest the whole camp? That’s how they get away with it. Then they move onto somewhere else and do it all over again.
That is the best way to deal with this, working together to reduce the risk and increase chance of getting them back.
That is true, Muddy.
I read recently about a young boy walking the family dog after school, and some b*****d threatened the kid and pinched his dog.
It worries me a lot now as local people are talking about some shady looking blokes seen kerb crawling around in a white van. They are suspected dog thieves apparently.
I don’t know if anyone has noted their number plates, but very often these are stolen anyway.
As I said recently, I am getting a personal alarm now. They hopefully wouldn’t like a heck of a noise to bring attention to themselves.
I read a report a few weeks back about 37 stolen dogs found at a travellers camp too.
I received a sort of questionaire/form from the local cops last week about this. They finally are asking what dog lovers have been asking for years! They want to know if dogs should no longer be regarded as merely ‘belongings.’
Once it dawns on them that our animals are like family to us and worth far more than a mboile phone being nicked, they are considering altering the sentences passed.
Perhaps in another 10 years they will have sorted it! :roll:
Changing the times and route and keeping pet on a short lead all may help prevent a random crime by low life opportunists .
