[y0rkieL0ver]

I saw this article and just wanted to bring it to all the breeder's attention- i never could imagine something like happening, but apparently it does. I know i myself am guilty of being to trusting sometimes, so please make sure you all take some kind of precaution to guard yourselves from something like this ever happening<3<3



Thief steals puppy for sale in Vista

By: JO MORELAND - Staff Writer

VISTA ---- The young man who phoned Fawn Schroeder at her Vista home earlier this month told her he wanted to buy one of her Yorkshire terrier puppies for his mother.
Schroeder, who was selling the 12-week-old puppies for $1,200 each, didn't realize that before the day ended the affable prospective buyer would steal one of the dogs at her home.

"Any purebred dog is expensive," the upset woman said Friday in a phone interview.

North County law enforcement officers contacted at random said they hadn't heard of any significant numbers of dog thefts, but John Carlson, North County regional director of the San Diego County Department of Animal Services, said "it wouldn't surprise me any."

"They very well may not be reported," Carlson said.

Terry Van Kirk of Oceanside, a dog breeder who specializes in Yorkshire terriers, said dog owners need to take steps to protect themselves when selling an animal.

"You can't just invite strangers over to your home," Van Kirk said.

Schroeder said she advertised her black and gold puppies for sale in a newspaper. A young man responded by phone about 4 p.m. Jan. 12, she said, claiming to be "Kurtis" from Oceanside.

Kurtis said he wanted a puppy for his mom and he was coming to her home, said Schroeder.

Cell phone to his ear and cigarette in his mouth, a clean shaven and "presentably dressed" young man in baggy, dark-colored pants walked up to her door that night.

Identifying himself as Kurtis, he told Schroeder he had parked on the street.

"I'm standing at the doorway with the puppy in my hands," said Schroeder. "He whistled to the dog, had his hands out. I handed him the dog."

At her husband's request, she said, she asked Kurtis to put out his cigarette. He turned with the dog and started down her front steps, giving her the impression he was going to get rid of the cigarette.

"The minute his foot hit that last step, he just started out running," said Schroeder.

She promptly reported the theft to a sheriff's deputy, which was the right thing to do, according to Carlson.

He and Van Kirk said there are ways for animal owners to protect themselves and the pets they're selling.

Carlson said he always cautions people to sell, never give away, an animal to make sure it has value in the buyer's mind and is to be treated properly.

Photographing and microchipping animals makes it easier to report and trace them if they're lost or stolen, and anyone caught with a stolen animal can be charged, he said.

When it comes to advertising an animal for sale, always put "references required" in the ad and never publish your address, Van Kirk advised.

She said dog sellers should interview the prospective buyer first by phone, getting the name and phone number of the buyer's veterinarian. That way the buyer can check with the vet to see how the person has cared for animals.

If the person says he or she hasn't had an animal before, ask for identification before allowing the prospective buyer to come to your home, Van Kirk said. Then, she said, look at the person's driver's license before allowing him or her into your home or near your dog.

Should the would-be buyer steal the animal, be cautious, Carlson said.

"Don't take steps to try to recover the animal as it's being stolen, because you could be harmed," he said. "Report it to law enforcement right away."

Contact staff writer Jo Moreland at (760) 740-3524 or jmoreland@nctimes.com.