[News] Guard Your Yorkies Against Dognapping
 

Yorkshire Terriers have become very popular items for thieves due to their value

The Yorkshire terrier trend has not only caught on with celebrities like Tara Reid, Britney Spears and Carmen Electra. It seems that the public's infatuation with these little dogs has created a demand that thieves can no longer ignore. Thieves and robbers across the country are passing on the usual loot of electronics, jewelry and other valuables, and snatching yappy Yorkies instead.

Due to the skyrocketing popularity of these miniature dogs, people are ready to pay anywhere between $600 and $2500 for a well-bred pup, making them a hot commodity on the "black" market.

Sergeant Thad Pickard, of the Hutchinson Police Department in Kansas, said he's worked at least two theft cases involving Yorkies in the past several months - and he's aware of one other case in Hutchinson where the dog was found dead.

In one case, the would-be thief fled before being able to capture the animals. The other case had a happy ending, as the dog was returned safely home, thanks to the ability of it's owner to recognize the value of microchipping.

The thefts appear to be catching on nationwide. February's newspapers included pleas for help from families in Queens, New York, as well as Reno and Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Last Friday, a video was released to the public showing armed gunmen tossing Yorkies into a black plastic garbage bag at an apartment in Los Angeles. On Saturday night, four of the five missing dogs were safely returned to their owners after a man turned himself in for the crime.

"I don't know what's driving it," Pickard said. "They're a nice dog to have, they're small and they're easy to care for and they're an expensive breed."

Connie Marcotte of Hutchinson, growing tired of the ruckus caused by her dogs outside, opened the back door to quiet them, only to see a would-be thief attempting to coax her Yorkies out of the yard.

A teenage girl squatted near the gate, attempting to lure Bubba and Rocky out of the yard.

"I was furious - I was beside myself," Marcotte said. "I called my husband and told him to come home. ... they're our babies - both our children are grown and gone."

When Marcotte came out of the house and approached her, the girl fled.

If there was any doubt as to the intentions of the teen, they were quickly erased when Marcotte discovered the purse-like dog carrier, leash and blanket the girl had left behind.

A few months later, Shad Flint arrived home and was surprised when his Yorkie, Megan, didn't bound to the door to greet him.

Flint filed a report with Pickard, and told the officer the dog had been "chipped", whereby a tiny microchip containing a serial code is implanted under the dog's skin. The microchip, coupled with a neighbor's detailed description of the suspect, was crucial in the dog's recovery.

"Another $30 investment and a good neighbor stepping up and the odds of getting your dog back triples," Flint said.

With a suspect in mind, Pickard approached area veterinarian Randall Smith, with Apple Lane Animal Hospital, about the electronic recovery devices.

"I don't think we would've gotten the dog back without the chip," Pickard said.

Marcotte has since had microchips implanted in both her dogs.

"Hopefully, if something ever does happen it will help me find them," she said.

Marcotte added that despite the new additions, she doesn't feel comfortable leaving her dogs alone anymore. With all the news accounts of thefts, and her personal experience with a potential dognapper, she worries about letting them out in the back yard, and she's still a little angry.

"I just can't believe someone would go around taking other people's pets," Marcotte said. "If you want a dog, go to the pound."

Protect your pet:

One stolen Yorkie was recovered with the help of a microchip that positively identified the dog.

Microchip installation costs $35 to $50, and involves implanting a device about as small as a grain of rice under the skin, usually between the shoulders.

Recorded by serial number, the chip's database then contains information about breeder, proper owner and street address etc.

A handheld scanner is used to record the serial number, which allows police and Humane Society workers to track down the animal's owner.

Smith said many people mistakenly believe that the microchip is a Global Positioning Satellite system that helps them track the whereabouts of their animals. The truth is, he added, the chip, without a scanner, is useless.

http://www.dogflu.ca/03052007/09/gua...nst_dognapping

It is very scary that people are stealing our beloved pets. Wasn't it just last year someone in the San Antonio area had like 20 yorkies stolen. It's shocking how low some people are!!

question on the micro chipping.... Gizmo is not microchipped... due to my worriedness over the needle going in and hurting him... I know.. my problem.. but if I microchip him and someone steals him can I track him..sorta like a GPS or is that a different type of mircrochipp?

aha... answered my own question....

The chip is good though because if someone had your dog it is one way you could prove it is your dog

But, the microchip has been known to cause cancer at the injection site.

http://www.louisville-pets.com/micro...cer_study.html

Implanted Microchips Cause Cancer

By Jane Williams GFN contributing writer---
(For Publication in the January 2007 "American Family Voice")

At the National ID Expo in Kansas City, Arkansas Animal Producer's
Association President Michael Steenbergen asked, "What safety studies
have been conducted on the chips that are inserted into animals?" His
question was met with total silence. Did these manufacturers not know,
or were they unwilling to admit that research has confirmed that
implanted microchips cause cancer?

Melvin T. Massey, DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine)
from Brownsboro,Texas, brought this to the attention of the American
Horse Council when he wrote, "I am a retired Equine Veterinarian and
still breed a few horses. Because of migration-infection s-increased
risk of sarcoids I will not want to have microchips in my horses."

The Institute of Experimental Pathology at Hannover Medical School
in Germany reported , "An experiment using 4279 CBA/J mice of two
generations was carried out to investigate the influence of parental
preconceptual exposure to X-ray radiation or to chemical carcinogens.
Microchips were implanted subcutaneously in the dorsolateral back for
unique identification of each animal. The animals were kept for lifespan
under standard laboratory conditions. In 36 mice a circumscribed
neoplasm occurred in the area of the implanted microchip.
Macroscopically, firm, pale white nodules up to 25 mm in diameter with
the microchip in its center were found. Macroscopically, soft tissue
tumors such as fibrosarcoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma were
detected."

Ecole Nationale Veterinaire of Unite d'Anatomie Pathologique in Nantes,
France, reported, "Fifty-two subcutaneous tumors associated with
microchip were collected from three carcinigenicity B6C3F1 micestudies.
Two of these 52 tumors were adenocarcinoma of the mammary gland located
on the dorsal region forming around the chip. All the other 50 were
mesenchymal in ori! gin and were difficult to classify on morphological
grounds with
haematoxylin-
eosin."

Marta Vascellari of Instituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie
at Viale dell'Universita in Legnaro, Italy reported examining a
9-year-old male French Bulldog for a subcutaneous mass located at the
site of a microchip implant. "The mass was confirmed as a high-grade
infiltrative fibrosarcoma,

with multifocal necrosis and peripheral lymphoid aggregates."

The Toxicology Department of Bayer Corporation in Stillwell, Kansas
reported, "Tumors surrounding implanted microchip animal identification
devices were noted in two separate chronic toxicity/oncogenici ty
studies using F344 rats. The tumors occurred at a low incidence rate
(approximately 1%), but did result in the early sacrifice of most
affected animals, due to tumor size and occasional metastases. No
sex-related trends were noted.

All tumors occurred during the second year of the studies, were located
in the subcutaneous dorsal thoracic area (the site of microchip
implantation) and contained embedded microchip devices. All were
mesenchymal in origin and consisted of the following types, listed on
order of frequency: malignant schwannoma, fibrosarcoma, anaplastic
sarcoma, and histiocytic sarcoma.

The following diagnostic techniques were employed: light microscopy,
scanning electron microscopy, and immunohistochemistry. The mechanism of
carcinogenicity appeared to be that of foreign body induced
tumorigenesis. "

Additional studies related to cancer tumors at the site of microchip
implants have been conduced in China; however, at this time these
studies are not available in English. At this time, no long term studies
are available covering more than two years. It only seems logical to
conclude that if carcinogenic tumors occur within one percent of animals
implanted within two years of the implant that the percentage would
increase with the passage of time. Additional studies need to be
conducted, but don't hold ! your bre ath for the manufacturers of
microchips to conduct such research and be leery of any such "research"
they may conduct. Even the limited research available clearly indicates
that implantation of microchips within an animal is gambling with the
animal's well being.

For additional Information:
www.vetpathology.org
also
National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health,
or just google for "sarcomas associated with implanted microchips".

:( This scares me so much. I really need to get Ludo microchipped. Is there a certain age they have to be? I would seriously die if someone ever tried to take him. I really don't feel comfortable leaving him alone anymore.

I was going back and forth on microchipping due to cancer on the spot but I think the probability of being stolen is higher than the cancer. I will microchip Siu Pao when I have his teeth taken out.

i dont worry about Brownie And Austin
Brownie is to big and aggressive and Austin is a chicken
kayko is watched like a hawk cause hes tiny Really friendly and doesnt bark at people
we always make Brownie keep an eye on him
and stand by the door at all times

I have Bailey microchipped and am planning on mircochipping Angel in the next few weeks when she gets spayed.
I talked to my vet about the cancer link with microchipping and she said that has not been proven. I feel the benefits of microchipping out weigh the supposed risk of cancer. My girlfriend did get her dog back after it ran away by having it microchipped. It is a Personal Choice and I am opting to have the extra ID protection for my dogs.

This makes me sick to my stomach. I am almost scared to let my puppies outside for fear that some riff raff will try to steal them. We live in a "nice neighborhood", but these days, that doesn't mean a thing.

My friend got a pup (pug/chi mix) so cute it look like a mini boxer, not even last her daughter a couple hours, her daughter who is 14 took the dog at the front yard and a car pass by ,grab the dog and left, poor girl she was crying for days. I only walk Pheobe with my Hubby my mice, I will not take any chance with my baby:aimeeyork

Oh, I didn't hear about that! That's awful!

That's unbelievable! I am afraid these types of things are becoming more and more common.

Thanks for the heads up.

I have to think that with all the bloodwork and other procedures we all end up having to have done on these dogs at some point, that you could use either blood-typing or DNA to reclaim a dog if a dispute erupted. All that info is on file with your local vet.

Seems a lot safer than the microchip, though in a general way I think they are good. Ideally, they will come up with something similar with less of a carcinogenic factor.

At home though we always say that if they ever took Ozzie :aimeeyork , they would bring him back!:)

Mocrchipping
 

My vet has been placing chips for 18 years and other than some irritation at the needle site once in a while he has seen no other problems. He also says the cancer aspect has not been proven. I'd rather have my dogs chipped knowng I could possibly get them back than worry about a maybe. We have been able to reunite 2 dogs wth their owners at the vet I work for because they were chipped.:)

I really dont understand why poeple must steal our dogs. They must not have a heart and soul because we love these little guys more than anything and I know that if someone took my baby I would just die inside. I hate these morons!:mad:

2 out of 4 are Micro-chipped!
 

I think this latest trend in stealing "Yorkie's" started b/c of their high price!
3 yrs. ago when I got my first male Yorkie, Artie no one had a Yorkie but now every where I go....some one always says I have a Yorkie at Home, or even two or three of them. The second day I arrived in Myrtle Beach, SC. I was'nt
very familiar with the area, I went Shopping @ Big Lots. I was only in there about 15 min. and someone broke into my BMW. by breaking the rear windshield window into a million pieces and Artie was only a puppy and he was hiding under the passenger seat.
I have 4 now and only 2 out of the 4 are micro-chipped so far. I hope this trend doesn't continue b/c I don't want to feel paranoid about my Babies?
Especially b/c they will go to anyone since they are so friendly!
Besides I think it's really tacky to sell someone elses Dog to another person.
And how did the prices get so high anyway?:aimeeyork

Any injection can cause a sarcoma- annual vaccinations included. I would definitely go the micro chip route- ours came chipped already from the breeder. It is the best way to prove it is your dog. If it is ever recovered from a dognapping (gulp).

Teresa

All these incidents are really freaking me out. I've always had a fear of someone breaking into my house and taking my babies but now my fears are becoming based on a reality. Harley is my only purebred dog but I worry just as much about my precious 'mutts' too.. Atleast my biggest dog Lady has large teeth and a vicious bark.. But still.. When I walk my guys now I'm always really nervous. I don't trust anyone and if someone approaches I snatch up Harley and pull my other guys leashes tight so they're right up close to me. I live way back off the road so far back in fact that people around me would never know I have dogs. But, in a way that's a bad thing because anyone could go up my driveway, break in and steal away my babies and no one would ever see a thing..

To me microchipping is a must. Also, I believe in tattooing your pet. It's an obvious mark on their underside and can be easily identified. Some people probably wouldn't do this because it leaves an outward mark on the dogs underthigh area. But think about it, if it means the difference between never seeing your dog again or him/her being recognized and returned.. I don't know about you but I'm going with the tattooing. JMO. Not every shelter/vet has a universal microchip scanner but every shelter/vet can read info off a tattoo.

I have a note on my coffee pot to call the vet in the morning. If I don't put a note on coffee pot, I will never remember what needs to be done.

Adonis has never been neutered, and still has a baby tooth he never lost. So when I make the appt, I will have all of this done at once.

He's such a friendly dog, and has never met a stranger.

Me too:(

I posted this elsewhere too, but I had "rescue my two yorkies" stickers on my front and back doors and took them off after the CA incident. I felt I was just advertising them for grabbing! I left one on the electrical panel since that's supposedly the first place firemen go.

Chips
 

Well my mom just called the vet after reading the above newpaper ad, cause I am going to have my operation in 2 week. She added the cost of the chip for me. Even in Maine they are setaling us. I am scared the stealers dont care for us like our mom's and dad's do.:animal-pa :animal-pa :aimeeyork

My goodness this is unreal that people would steal others pets.
It is very scary..My babies will be microchip

Yorkie thefts in Kansas City
 

It was just reported on our news a couple of days ago 2 yorkies were stolen in Kansas City. How sad.

This is so scary - makes me even more thankful for my experience. I was burglarized, (on Christmas morning of all things!) losing all my jewelry. But the scariest part is that Riley was home alone!! I was so grateful that he was safe and sound and they didn't take him I truly could have cared less about the jewelry.

I have since had an alarm installed and had Riley microchipped at the same time he was neutered....

Repair people and dogs
 

Last fall, when the strikeplate cracked on our new patio sliding doors, we had to have the company's repair people out to "install" a new one (which was so stupid because it just snaps in, but nooooo they could not simply mail me one since it was still under warranty).
Two guys came out, and I had my 2Yorkies in their crate so they wouldn't get underfoot. Of course, they were all excited about the men walking thru the kitchen, and making a bit of a fuss on not being able to visit. But it was the oddest thing, these 2 guys were all curious "oh what kind of dogs are those? How old are they?" They even waved bye to the dogs on the way out.
But it was just odd. Without thinking, I spurted out "I don't know, they are my sister's, I'm just watching them for the week while she's on vacation." I just had this odd sensation, like I needed to protect the dogs... like these guys would try something, like come back later to nap them..
Ever since then, my rule is, any repair people/salespeople/etc in the house, and the dogs go upstairs out of sight. This is a sad sad world we live in. I was so proud of Yorkie popularity. Now I see the downside.

Teresa

Yikes, this scared me so bad. I have made an appointment next week to have my babies microchipped. I just hope I never have the need to use them.

Can anybody tell me if it will make my babies sore and if so, for how long?

I just made Angel's spay appt, it is for the 15th. I will have her Microchipped at the same time.