Yorkies are the #1 stolen breed
 

Saw this on FB:

http://theilovedogssite.com/10-most-...en-dog-breeds/

According to the American Kennel Club, dog theft is on the rise. In fact, AKC has been tracking dog napping since 2007, and there was a 31% increase in 2013. It’s a scary thought, as we’d never want anyone to get their hands on our furry friends and do them harm. But why are people stealing dogs anyway? There are a number of reasons – all of them for money. Some dogs are stolen to be used in illegal fighting rings and training methods, but most others are re-sold as pets for a lot of cash or even bred so that puppies can be sold for even more money. Some breeds have been determined to be higher targets than others, but all dog owners should be aware. It’s important to keep in mind this list of breeds, however, so you can help keep your pet safe from these terrible thieves.

#1 – Yorkshire Terrier

It’s no surprise Yorkies are a popular choice for dog thieves. These little guys are adorable, and can be sold to unsuspecting buyers (whom unfortunately haven’t done their research to go to a reputable breeder) for up to $2,500.

Scary as heck! I'm certain the December after I got Tibbe a car full of 4 adults tried to steal him from my back yard as they scoped him out first by driving by slowly in the alley. He was running around barking at the car, looking so cute and they were all scooted over close to the car windows on that side, smiling at him. I was sitting on the couch in the den watching Tibbe out the window and saw them all looking at him and after a bit, drove on. A short while later, there they were coming slowly back down the alley, stopping by my back fence and a grown man and woman got out from the back seat of the car and approached the back yard boat gate, which at the time, had no lock on it. Tibbe was moving away from them toward the center of the yard and myself, watching from the den window, panicked and jumped up, ran from the den out into the Utility Room and out the back door and off the porch into the yard screaming at the top of my lungs to get away from my gate and my dog - or something like that - and they didn't even look up at me - just both dashed back into the car and the driver sped off, burning rubber as he did.

Since then, there are locks on the gates and he's never out back alone w/out me standing in the yard or on the back porch or in the back door. I never allow strangers to hold him as they might just take off with him - and besides, he's a nervous jumper & if they don't hold him as securely as he likes, he might try to jump out of their arms - so I keep a wary eye out when we're out and about when other folks are around. You never know who is eyeing your dog as a target!

Thanks for the heads up.

It makes me sick to even think about! We all do need to be very aware of our surroundings at all times...
Our little one count on us to make good decisions and to keep them safe and healthy!

Its an alarming figure but I hope it doesnt paralyze yorkie owners into not letting people pet or come near their yorkies or not do things they would normally do out of fear there pets will be stolen because the chances of it happening are slim. They should be cautious but not doing things out of fear

I do not take Hannah any where but the vet because of this. She always has her harness on with me at the other end and usually in my arms or the vets. I used to take her to my moms but the thought of her running out the door was just to much for me. I would love to take her everywhere and show her off but I am just to darn over protective I guess. Selfish too! I don't need anyone to gawk at her but me. When I have company over I usually put her in her x-pen in my bedroom and no one is allowed to touch her unless I am there. And that is with family and close friends. She does have a tendency to want to jump out of others arms so I take no chances with her. She's mine, mine and all mine. Sounds terrible I know!

It's kind of scary to take such a tiny dog out in public sometimes. Once in the pharmacy when I just ran in to leave a prescription, I had to wait in line before I could hand it over and I had Tibbe held to my side in one arm and a small kid came up a grabbed onto & pulled his little hind leg and held on! Another time, a strange woman who said she just loves Yorkies and was cooing and gooing flat tried to pull him right out of my arms and I held fast, telling her "no, no". Another woman just walked up, grabbed his face in one hand & kissed him right on the lips as I held him in my arms while on the sidewalk, saying he was so cute she couldn't help herself.

Some strangers can be very reckless around these fragile little dogs and you have to be wary of what they might do. It's true most people don't try anything at all, let alone something scary, but when they do, your dog could be the loser.

Wow! What a tall, dark & handsome Dobie, Martin!

Herman is very handsome! Is he yours Doc?

I had one, 'Bruno' back in 77, through to '82. He'd been brutalised in the South African diamond mines as a pack killer and I took him on during a time of great personal disruption to my life. I was told he was too soft to make a good assassin! That said, he was incredibly protective towards me right from the start when I look back on it? Especially when I was ambushed one night on the Lancashire moors by a gang of car jackers. One punched me savagely and then broke two ribs kicking me, while my glasses frames stood upright from where they'd been sunk in my face. I'd stopped to help what I mistakenly thought was a 'crash' at a particularly lonely spot halfway twixt Sheffield and Leeds in the 'Snake' pass at around 2am, on a frozen moonlit night.

Incredibly the dog did nothing and kept silent until one of them jumped into my vehicle, without checking what was on the back seat. The awful sounds of his howling as he held my assailant by the back of the neck with those huge teeth and his screams in accompaniment will live with me forever. His accomplices were terrified too and beat it fast. They left the bloodied thug cringing and whimpering as 'Bruno' maintained his neck hold, now face down to the road as he spilled out of the car, as I opened the back door.

Although we'd never even rehearsed this part of his training he did 'desist' when I called out ophuo (offo) in Africanse. He then stood between, us his ears absolutely upright, the true embodiment of evil, his breath steaming, frightening but magnificent with the moonlight on his back. I was transfixed, it was like countenancing the very Hound of the Baskervilles!

I left this awful man crying and trembling like a baby, blood gushing from his neck, one finger almost severed, sobbing for pity and drove away without remorse. Later I had 12 stitches and many splinters from those fractured glasses taken from my cheek. The ribs took months of pain to mend and I only had one arm to start with anyway! I probably owe him my life, as this gang was homicidal on other occasions.

The uncanny thing was the way he'd remained silent in the blackness, coiled on the back seat of the Roller, I was using then, just waiting his opportunity to strike, more like an upstanding King Cobra than a canine - believe me those teeth are truly fearsome.

Bruno, well he lived with me and then my late wife after we married and was brilliant with both the Cats and all the kittens we had. He died in my arms following a massive stroke. The Vet thought he was about ten. My friend and I'll never forget him. RIP dear Bruno, my saviour.

(Wow sorry this has gone on bit, and forgive me for transgressing the threads story, but I've never recounted this before - too painful to recall I guess?)

Not a good way to have a long healthy life if you pick the wrong person to steal from, some of us protect our families!

No here's one of the old chap, a friend of mine took (he was a press photographer) and was scared stiff of dogs! Bruno loved him though! It's a great picture I think and we have it on the wall in the study here!

What a glorious hero Bruno was. You'd ultimately no doubt have been killed that night, beaten to death for the fun of it and left to make a statement to passersby but for that marvelous, noble animal who cunningly bided his time! What a triumph he had that night!

I had three Dobies years back, two of which we lost to illness - one got leptospirosis & the other died, along with 3 of her pups, at the vet hospital of septicemia from bacterial mastitis after whelping most of her litter at the vet's(she had 3 at home) and the 3rd of our Dobies, which was one of her puppies, was the love of my life until we had to move to an apt. in Houston for 3 years for my husband's dispatch training and work at the airlines & leave our home here. We were totally changing our lifestyle for 3 years while there and worried C would pine and suffer from being cooped up in an apt. all day alone so we gave him to a Braniff pilot to have the run of his ranch and fly with him all over the country in his private plane. I cried for months missing C. He was one of a kind and we adored each other as his mother and I did each other. But we heard all about C's excellent adventure living with his pilot owner for years and felt we made the right choice for him though it sure hurt.

My niece has the most marvelous 95 lb. Dobie girl one right now - an homage to a childhood Dobie my sister & BIL bought her as a preteen and whom she grew to adulthood with. Dobermans are truly fabulous dogs and gentle as hamsters until someone messes with their charges.

Your wonderful Herman truly makes me pant for another Dobie! I'd love to see standing profile pictures to get an idea of his big chest, short back, haunches and wonderful form. Dobermans are like small thoroughbred racehorses to me and are elegance itself.

How is Crystal adjusting to this marvelous knight in shining black armor who's come to grace her home? Is she head-over-heels or playing hard to get? With Herman, I doubt your Yorkie is at the same risk of theft she was prior to him trotting in the door of your home!

Congratulations on getting such a beauty! Sorry, too, for thread hi-jacking!

I take Bella everywhere with. But, her harness is always on and is attached to me. No one may hold her. My grand kids aren't allowed to walk her.
Henry is beautiful.
And what a specimen Bruno was.

Handsome devil! I'm totally in love! What a poster that shot would make. You can tell Bruno knew he was a very capable, confident dude just by his body attitude.

Bruno reminds me of a friend of ours, who had two. One night my hubby was helping him load some thing into the car. Our friend ran back into the house. So my hubby was going to keep loading, not knowing the pair were sitting in the back seat, nice and quiet, when my hubby reached in all h e double l broke loose. Scared the heck out of him., and he was a Marine on active duty, and had done three tours in Viet Nam. We still talk about that, and it was almost 40 years ago.

LOL. "Silent but deadly" some used to say to describe the Doberman's reaction to strangers on or near their territory. Ours used to wait until people leaned close to the window of the car to admire their beauty & they'd sit there and preen with soft eyes, calm demeanor until the admirer moved up close to the window & RAMBAM-BOOM! - they'd suddenly erupt into yards of snarling teeth, growling and barking and trying to get through the closed window & scare the pee-waddle out of folks. Our car was never in any danger of being car-jacked when we had a Dobie in it and once the weather got cool in Texas, they went everywhere with us. All of my dogs were well-trained to behave when around people and pets but left alone to guard something, they were fierce.

This is one of my big concerns and I try to do all I can to keep Lola safe.

If someone bends down to see her, I bend down too and put my hand on her leash over the hook. If she's in her stroller I do the same thing.
If a kid wants to see her I pick her up.
I always have her leash wrapped around my hand.
I decorated her leash with "rhinestone" ribbon, so it would be hard to cut. (It looks like rhinestones but it's just metal)
If I'm holding her and someone wants to pay attention to her I wrap both arms around her.
If I'm distracted I pick her up.
She's never outside alone.


Some people really do lose their minds around a beautiful yorkie, and in my experience middle aged women are the worst offenders and kids (not toddlers) are the most respectful.
A woman who owns a farm stand walked up and tried to take her out of my arms, I told her no and she got really offended, so I told her Lola gets very wiggly when other people hold her and she was a little less offended. It wasn't a lie though, Lola won't even let the pet store employees she's known her entire life hold her.

A lot of middle aged women also do things like grab her face, and get annoyed when I tell them not to so I walk away. This is why Lola prefers kids and men.


Lola is afraid of being stolen too, as soon as someone jokes about it she's like DONE and tried to climb my shoulder. She also gets nervous if I put her in my aunts car if my aunt drops something off or if we're at someone's house and I have my shoes on, she's afraid I'm going to leave her.

Sorry Jeanie in my reply to Joyce, I said that 'Herman' is not mine, although I wished that he was! I just used the charming picture as a humorous insert. I love Dobies too. They are a much maligned breed, and as you say essentially soft natured, until you mess with their own! Bruno spent all his days with me in the office and traveled everywhere in the car or by rail with me. I had no fear of falling asleep on the night train back from London - no one disturbed me and he knew our stop and when to wake me up!

He always slept at the foot of my bed, or on it, whenever he could and many times I awoke to this 95lb giant snuggled right up to me. Once we came home and found one of the 6 kittens missing. Bruno had put her behind him in his basket for safe keeping. The others, we guessed had been bullying it whilst Mom was outside, as a repeat process subsequently revealed.

He carried this tiny creature in those massive jaws with the tenderness of her mother. He, like Crystal knew my right hand was paralyzed and spent hours trying to lick it back to life! Hyper intelligent too, he never troubled people, or other dogs. One of those slightly cross eyed looks, with the ears straight up was always enough brrrr!

A gentle Hercules, with a great big heart. Yes they are like racehorses, beautiful graceful lines and he never ran, he just loped somehow!

I think he would have been a great pal for tiny Crystal and what a bodyguard too!

Back on thread, sorry ladies, we too are also suffering a surge of Dog thefts in the UK, by immigrant gangs from Eastern Europe. (whom we can't stop coming here, thanks to the craziness of the European Unions laws, supersceding our own!) Many are taken whilst owners are walking them. The biggest rise has been in thefts of cocker spaniels, following an increase in popularity after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge adopted a puppy, Lupo. What a world!

It is a fabulous pic isn't it Jeanie. James my pal, who took it, used it a lot in his promotional camera work as an example and it was also 'October' in a Dog Calendar, back in the late seventies.

Whilst I think I helped him after his ordeal in the mines, he was always very sure of himself and when you looked like that why not? When I took him on, my father had just died, I'd not long had the accident that paralyzed me and my first wife left me. Many were afraid he'd trip out and kill me one night. Somehow we needed each other as friends and the bond was unbreakable from first meeting, until he had to leave...

I'm very weary of people who ask me questions about any of my dogs I've owned. I have known families who have had their pit bull puppies stolen. So I can certainly believe this to be true for yorkies.

I don't share many details with strangers on the cost, where I got them or much else. Most people aren't so shady but there's that handful that will do anything to try to take what you have.

I know these feelings well. Kids watch her on the beach and always approach respectfully, thinking from a distance she's a puppy. Two great chaps with German shepherds and a husky, know I'll pick her up when they approach and the fisherman all give her a pat whilst she's under my arm. We few know each other well by now. However once the privacy of winter recedes and the tourists encroach our lovely little town changes! The middle aged ladies are particularly admiring, although in fairness they are normally limited to admiring looks, smiles, or kind words of appreciation - they are the gentle ones however.

I have a tide table as a start up item in the Mac, accompanied by a sunrise/set chart. These seasonal accoutrements are necessary however, as we seem to attract a particularly ugly set of summer visitors these later years unfortunately. Mainly drunks, who see little dogs as target practice! In the season I wait, until they're all guzzling in the bars as the sun sets.

Alternatively it's a 5am walk, as hues in the east assemble - with the fresh beach and a new day to ourselves - and the blessed peace of seclusion.
'Hell is other people' - John Paul Sarte

Wow...amazing. Thank God you had Bruno... Good dog, Bruno... Hope you are having fun across the bridge....

I don't even know what I'll do if our little Bella was stolen from us... ughhrrr... Thank you for the heads up... Keep your precious babies safe at all times.

Oh, snap, I missed the part about Herman not being yours. At least you know him!

Thank goodness you and Bruno come into each others lives when you did. It sounds like he was a bodyguard, soulmate, psychiatrist, physical/ occupational therapist, social worker, roommate, family member and best friend all rolled into one. And obviously, you were his everything and a savior to him as well. It's amazing how transforming and fulfilling life can be for a human and his dog.

Maybe every Yorkie owner needs to have a big Dobie along to keep the #1 stolen breed safe from all those dog thieves!!! :)

Very Sad!

Yes Jeanie, we were good karma to each other I felt. Funny about the silence thing too. Even if he were in a deep sleep, if I got up and moved, he instantly followed me. If ever the front bell rang, he never made a sound, (unlike Crystal!) but just followed me to the door and went down (like his pic) on all fours behind me. If I didn't like what I saw I just had to snap my fingers and his head would appear in between my leg and the frame - ears bolt rigid! As you know, when they do bark it's like a Howitzer going off!

My Chris always referred to him as our 'Doberbaby', cos underneath that's what he really was. I was trying to find a picture of them together last night, but it's in an old version of Photoshop and I can't open it. Anyway my Chris was Elizabeth Montgomery's virtual double and was often asked for autographs, especially in LA! I'm thinking of moving out to the country next year, before I hit 70, too many people round here now. If I do. I'd fancy having one from a trusted breeder as a pup. He could be Crystal's outrider - as well as mine and Irina's too, this world is becoming such a violent place...

An update on dog thefts apparently a Bichon Frise was grabbed in the woods 40 miles away yesterday! The elderly owner was less than 50 yards distant at the time. She's offering a $1500 no questions asked reward, hoping the swine who took it will return her...

Creepy kids! Your mommy instincts were right on, they were up to no good. I never leave my furry buddies alone in our backyard. I even fenced in the side so they don't go near the gate. It's a tall gate w/a lock, but won't take any chances.
Dobies are fiercely loyal companions! I was lucky enough to have been owned by one, even tho it's was for a short time. Lex was my x-boyfriend's dog & I took him in when his parents moved & my ex couldn't keep Lex in his condo w/no yard. We had a huge yard back then, Lex lived only to be 9 years old, he got prostate cancer & we made the painful decision to let him go. Attachment 401096
One time, I was walking him on a horse trail by our home & a Bull dog was walking by, Lex lunged @ him & flipped me over! I landed on the mud & dirt but somehow I had not lost grip of his leash. TG nobody got hurt & the Bull dog owner was understanding, he knew Lex was just being protective of me. Now I know he could've been dog aggressive too, maybe.

Amazing story - thanks for sharing!