Dog Thefts

[gwd]

i read the article you posted, along with a few others along with the comments. there seems to be a lot of finger pointing at traveller encampments.......but what was disturbing were the comments about the police not being willing to check the encampments even when 'lost' dogs are spotted or 'rewards' paid. please educate me on why that is?

[gwd]

I also found this informative but terrifying article: 5 ways thieves could steal your dog

that article just scared the crap out of me...........i take the dogs almost everywhere i go. they are harnessed into the jeep so i never worried about them exiting while i groc shop, and the weather in sd is so mild that there are few times i've thought it was too hot or too cold for them to be in the jeep, especially because i have the back window off so there is always ventilation. the notion of someone taking my dogs just seemed like such a low risk. ...........reading that article put a lump in the pit of my stomach.

[ClareMarsh]

In the UK they go missing out of cars all the time. It's got so I don't even leave him in when I go to pay for fuel, but then it's easy to smuggle a chi in anywhere

This makes for some interesting toilet situations if a service station won't let me in with him. I often do 3 or 4 hour drives, my bladder's ability to make it varies (Ted is fine he sleeps all the way ) and I have ended up having to disappear behind a tree and deploy a shewee on occasion

[JudyN]

This makes for some interesting toilet situations

At least you and Ted fit in one cubicle together I occasionally have to use the 'facilities' in Poole Park, and go in the end cubicle, with Jasper's front end in with me and the door open. Anyone coming in will hopefully realise that there's a person in the loo with a dog's bum sticking out

[ladybug1802]

This recent attack of dog thefts is so scary. A friend in Cambridge said that a woman put her dog and child in the car outside her house, then forgot something so popped back to the house for literally a minute. When she came out the child was crying and a van was driving away....they had stolen the dog from the boot of her car.

And I have heard of lots of stories of dogs being taken when they are being walked.....and someone I know was doing some training with her cocker on a local common and there were 2 vans in the car park. She got a dodgy vibe from them...esp when she got out her car they moved....one to very near the entrance of the car park, almost blocking it. so she got straight back in her car and called the police, telling them the vans reg numbers....and as she drove off one of the vans followed her very closely down the A3...then eventiually pulled off as she just kept driving.

Luckily Dylan is not good with strangers so he wouldnt let someone get hold of him....he would at least bite them, at best try to kill them!

[gwd]

what in gawds name is fueling these thefts?

[JudyN]

what in gawds name is fueling these thefts?

There's an article about it here, gwd: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/pe ... untry.html

[lucyandbella]

Gwd, i know here in northern California there heave been dog thefts where the dogs are then sold on Craigslist for profit. It seems only mutts are safe from theft. However in my town there was also some crazy who was letting dogs out of cars to run around in the parking lot because she thought leaving the dog in the car was cruel! Most thefts I have heard of here are dogs left in the backyard or tied up outside a store. I can't imagine someone taking my dog from me while we were on a walk though! That's really scary!

[OnceInAWeil]

the notion of someone taking my dogs just seemed like such a low risk. ...........reading that article put a lump in the pit of my stomach.

Same here. I have definitely left Tony in the car a few times while popping into the store. Won't be doing that anymore.

[WufWuf]

i read the article you posted, along with a few others along with the comments. there seems to be a lot of finger pointing at traveller encampments.......but what was disturbing were the comments about the police not being willing to check the encampments even when 'lost' dogs are spotted or 'rewards' paid. please educate me on why that is?

This link will help explain what the "Travelling community" is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Travellers (in the UK they also have "English Travellers" who are of Romani decent)

The police have a strained relationship with many of the "Travelling communities" as to a certain extent they live by their own laws (for example travelling children are often taken out of school very young to work and to protect them from outside influence). They would find it difficult to gain access to their properties/land without causing some serious bad blood as the Irish Travellers are extremely private.

Something that I think illustrates how different their lives are to "country" people (non travellers) is that current statistics show that less then 50% of Irish Travellers make it past 39 years old.

[MPbandmom]

This information is scary. I leave the dogs in the van all the time. At the park, I don't always lock the doors depending on whether I plan to stay in general sight of the van or feel that I'm going to want to get back in quickly in the event of a sudden downpour and don't want to be standing outside fumbling with keys. Another reason is is somewhat comforting that "Santa" is watching at the park.