Dog theft -- what you should know
You may remember Josh's post earlier this month about the dognapping of Kimbo -- and the happy ending when he was found and returned to his San Pedro home.
I saw Kimbo last week at the dog park. The happy, romping 116-pound, 2-year-old Rottweiller appears to have survived his ordeal in good shape. He's no doubt very happy to be back home again.
But not all stolen dog stories end so well. And dog theft these days is not all that unusual, according to
an article at PetPlace.com: .
Dog theft is a crime that is hard to measure in statistics. Some have put the number of total pet thefts at 2 million a year. ... However, it is often hard to discern whether a pet was stolen or simply wandered off and got lost.
Linda Fields, a journalist who founded FindFido.com, a nonprofit pet locater service, estimates that about 10 percent of the 1,460 dogs listed on her site were stolen.
According to National Pet Recovery, a private pet recovery company, about 41 percent of the cases reported to them involved a stolen dog. About 47 percent of lost dogs were those allowed to run loose.
See the jump for the reasons dogs are stolen -- and tips on what you can do to keep your pet safe.
Our thanks again to PetPlace for the heads-up and useful resources.
- Money. This could be outright ransom, but more common is waiting for a reward to be posted. The dognapper then calls the owners, saying they "found him" wandering around.
- Dog fighting. This may seem unusual because most stolen dogs have sweet temperaments -- otherwise a thief may be deterred. Unfortunately, dogs are either "conditioned" to fight by curel training methods or used as "bait" to train other dogs to fight.
- Cult rituals. Often done ofr kicks, black dogs (and cats) are at particular risk around Halloween.
So how do we keep our dogs safe?
- Secure your yard, ring it with a fence and make sure the gate is closed (and preferably locked).
- don't leave your dog outside when you're not around.
- Never leave your dog unattended. It takes only a moment to untie him and lead him off.
- Be awared, and make sure your neighbors are aware, of the problems of pet theft. Let your neighbors know if you are expecting people on your property if you are not around, so they know to call the police if someone unexpected shows up.
- Never allow your dog to roam free in the neighborhood -- for everyone's sake.
- Never leave your dog unattended in a car.
- Always make sure he wears a collar with his ID tags. Microchips also are good.
- Keep recent photos of your dog, taken from different angles that clearly show coat type and coloring, close-ups of the face and any exceptional physical characteristics.
- Keep all your proof-of-ownership papers (adoption, breeding contract, bill of sale) in one place to prove ownership.
If your dog is stolen, call police and begin your own search -- walk the neighborhood, talk to neighbors, drive slowly around several times lately, hand out pictures, post "Lost Dog" flyers. You can also find help from three web sites:
About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
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