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pet theft on the rise - Tips from AKC Lots of good info here from AKC: Pet Theft on the Rise – Tips to Prevent Pet Theft By: Courtesy of the American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club® is warning pet owners and breeders about an alarming rise in dog thefts in recent months. From parking lots to pet stores and even backyards, more dogs are disappearing. In the first three months of 2008, the AKC has tracked more than 30 thefts from news and customer reports, versus only ten for all twelve months of 2007. Media reports have chronicled the escalation of these "dog-nappings" from all around the country. Incidents have included armed robbers entering a breeder's home, tiny puppies being stuffed into purses at pet stores and most recently, purebred pets being snatched from cars in parking lots and even shelters. "The value of pets in people's lives has been on the rise for a long time and now we are seeing thieves trying to capitalize on this. Whether they seek to resell the dog, collect a ransom or breed the dogs and sell their offspring, thieves seem to be attuned to the increased financial and emotional value pets have in our lives," said AKC spokesperson Lisa Peterson. "Losing a treasured family pet is devastating to the owner." "Criminals look for weaknesses and exploit them. They know pets can't protect themselves, so that means owners need to be alert," said Lt. John Kerwick, a law enforcement K-9 handler and the President of the U.S. Police Canine Association, Region 7. "Be wary of anyone who approaches you and asks too many questions about your dog or where you live. This is a red flag that they may be out to snatch your pet." Peterson added that "These 'dog-nappers' are misguided and naïve. They're stealing living beings, not jewelry that can be pawned. Plus, it's unlikely that they can sell the dogs for high prices without proper registration papers, and these inept criminals are not realistically going to collect a ransom. Caring for a dog -- and especially breeding -- is a time consuming endeavor that requires a lot of knowledge. Thieves will find themselves with a frightened and confused animal that needs a lot of care." The AKC offers the following advice to prevent your "best friend" from being a target of a crime: At Home · Don't let your dog off-leash – Keeping your dog close to you reduces the likelihood it will wander off and catch the attention of thieves. A Saint Bernard that had wandered away from his owner in Nebraska was snatched up right off the road. · Don't leave your dog unattended in your yard – Dogs left outdoors when no one is home for long periods of time can be potential targets, especially if you live in a rural area and the fenced-in yard or dog runs are visible from the street. · Keep purchase price to yourself – If strangers approach you to admire your dog during walks, don't answer questions about how much the dog cost or give details about where you live. · Breeders need to be aware of home visits by potential puppy buyers – Criminals posing as would be "puppy buyers" have visited breeder homes to snatch dogs, while other homes have been burglarized when the owner was away. From Yorkies in Los Angeles to Bulldogs in Connecticut, thieves have targeted young puppies of these highly coveted breeds. On the Road · Never leave your dog in an unattended car, even if it's locked – Even if you are gone for only a moment, an unlocked car is an invitation for trouble. Also leaving expensive items in the car such as a GPS unit or laptop will only invite thieves to break and possibly allow the dog to escape. · Don't tie your dog outside a store – This popular practice among city dwelling dog owners can be a recipe for disaster. Reports have surfaced of such thefts in Manhattan. If you need to go shopping, patronize only dog-friendly retailers or leave the dog at home. · Be vigilant when entering or leaving establishments or venues catering to dogs such as grooming salons, veterinarians, doggie day care or hotels – Be aware of your surroundings, such as slow moving vehicles, or people watching you and your dog. Carry pepper spray as a precaution and, if possible, don't walk alone late at night or stay in a well lit area. Recovery · Protect your dog with microchip identification – Collars and tags can be removed so make sure you have permanent ID with a microchip. Keep contact information current with your recovery service provider. Several pets have been recovered because of alert people scanning and discovering microchips. For more information and to enroll your pet in a 24 hour recovery service visit AKC CAR - Companion Animal Recovery - Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved. · If you suspect your dog has been stolen – Immediately call the police / animal control in the area your pet was last seen. · Have fliers with a recent photo ready to go if your dog goes missing – Keep a photo of your dog in your wallet or on an easily accessible web account so that you can distribute immediately if your pet goes missing. |
Hi Linda, Thanks for the great tips! You never know who is lurking around watching to snatch you furbaby! It is so scary just how bad people have gotten now. :eek::eek: Have a great day |
Perhaps this has already been done. But I was thinking why not have the microchip act like a LoJack? When the dog is missing you can call and have the chip activated and your dog will show up as a blip on a map that someone can follow. They would probably charge a monthly fee for the service but I would pay it. |
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· Don't tie your dog outside a store – This popular practice among city dwelling dog owners can be a recipe for disaster. Reports have surfaced of such thefts in Manhattan. If you need to go shopping, patronize only dog-friendly retailers or leave the dog at home. ^^ I live in NYC and let me tell you this has to be one of the worst practices done. I understand that you have to walk your dog and you need to do errands at the same time but this has to be one of the easiest ways for a thief to steal your dog!!! Leave them at home when you do errands!!! Sorry but this is very common to do here. |
Great tips, thanks for posting! |
I know I am constantly praying and hopeing that LulaBelle is never stollen.:aimeeyork I am just afraid that somebody is going to wait till I leave for work and take her.:( I have taken all the nessisary steps for protecting her but one never knows. Every day I leave the house and think and pray please keep my baby safe! |
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Great Tips :thumbup::thumbup: |
Great Post!!! Great Information! THANKS! |
Good tips!! Kinda scary though!! I used to leave my 3 little ones in the car seat and just run into the grocery store for 5 minutes and then I thought, would I leave $5000 sitting on the seat, of course not!! So now I run them home and then go back to the store!! I don't want to take any chances! |
Thanks for posting these tips! |
:thumbup: Thank you so much for the post! :thumbup: |
*Tytainea* Be careful about taking her to work! I read on YT a few months ago a dog was stolen from a ladies office! Something about a customer came in and while she was helping someone else, he grabbed her dog and ran!:eek: I live in constant fear my Jezebel will be stolen. She microchiped but I still worry, my husband thinks I'm crazy. I try to never leave her in the car alone and when she was spayed, I worried someone would still her from the vet office! |
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But that is a good point you bring up. I wouldnt have thought of something like that. If someone tried to run with my little one they better hope like hell I dont catch them. |
Absolutely great advice:thumbup:...I used to take Izzy myself to Petsmart, Petco, etc., but not without my husband these days. Sad that you can't even take your pet to the vet without worrying about who is around you.:( |
hubby and i already decided that when we go camping, i am not going to take lily may on walks either on foot or in stroller without him with us. it is just too scarey. |
I hate this is something that has become a reality. My mom, who works for the police department, alerted me to this early last year. It's becoming such a big problem. As a result, I am so over protective of Teddy. When I move into an apartment next year, and when I'm away at law school, I will talk to the landlord about getting an alarm system set up just so I feel okay knowing he's going to home alone. |
:thumbup: Great tips!!! thanks for posting them! |
This is one reason when I take my Yorkies outside I NEVER EVER leave them ALONE!!! Won't do it even when we get our front yard fenced in. I don't do it even in the back with the big privacy fence up and lock on both doors. I don't take mine and leave them in my car to go shopping either. Just to risky. U can't trust people now days. I keep my doors all locked even if we go for a walk do the road with say 2 of our Yorkies at a time and our other 3 are in our house. My doors are locked all the time. I also don't leave my windows open in my house not even to run to the store. I leave them open when I'm here at home or hubby is here. I just don't want any of my Dolls taken from me. Don't know what I'd do it that ever happened. When we 1st moved here to our house 4 years ago, we had a beautiful medium size mutt (Kipper), we had him out in our back yard on a (Not sure the name of them) lead (No privacy fence then) he stayed outside all the time. The day before he was stolen, he (We thought) got off his lead, hubby fed him every single evening as soon as he came home, didn't even come in the house 1st. He came in & ask if I knew where Kipper was I said no he was outside earlier cause I took him fresh water why, he said he's gone. He went to look for him around the block and by the time he came back Kipper was at our back garage door waiting to be fed. We went out and bought him a new tie out lead and tie out, put Kipper on it and came inside and said he won't get off that one, I couldn't hardly get the clip on his collar. Then next night we heard Kipper barking and thought he was barking at a cat (He loved to play with them). The next evening my hubby ask me again where Kipper was I said I don't know. Well he was stolen from us. We got to looking around where his dog house was and his tags was laying there and my hubby said there is NO way Kipper got loose by himself, they had cut his tags off and left them. We called the police and reported it to the HS and searched forever for him and still if I see a white dog I think it's Kipper. And I guess as a smart or hurtful (Hurt me & my family to death) remark about a week later they brought his collar (Blue still have it) and left it on the side of our house in our yard, now we had been all over that side of our yard and never saw it so they had to of brought it back. So I learned my lesson, listen when ANY of U're outside dogs bark, get up and look no matter if U think it's a rabbit or cat they are barking at, it may not be as it wasn't in Kippers' case. And never ever leave U're babies outside alone. Outside dogs or not. I will not have another outside dog due to loosing Kipper. Not worth the risk of loosing any dog over. I know if we ever see Kipper again or he sees us he'll come up to us, and we would know him 100% for sure if his tounge was hanging out, it's split into a little way up it, hubby cut it when he was trimming Kippers' beard. But we've never seen him since and I'd say someone has him inside or he passed on. So please do be careful it can happen in U're own yards. & Kipper we love and miss U and think of U every single day |
Great post!:thumbup: |
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