THE FOLLOWING IS AN ARTICLE FROM THE ECHO:

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/9588833.Dogs_being_stolen_to_order/?ref=mr

Pets being ‘dognapped’ to order across Hampshire

12:00pm Wednesday 14th March 2012 in News Exclusive By Arron Hendy

A dog being taken for a walk

WE’VE all seen the missing dog posters and heard the rumours about pets being stolen to order.

Then there’s the stories circulating – which some say are urban myths – about thieves targeting pedigree dogs and stealing them from owners’ homes or kennels.

Some, it is said, are even taken while they are out being walked.

But while distraught owners spread the word that their beloved pet has been taken away in the back of a car, it’s easier to believe they must simply have run away.

However, today the Daily Echo can reveal that many of the claims are true.

Dog thieves are targeting high-value breeds in the Southampton and New Forest areas and owners have been left heartbroken at losing their animals.

Dog rescue groups are warning that the expensive pets are being taken for breeding, hunting and to be sold on, while some say they are even used for fighting.

The volunteers fear the problem is going unreported and unpunished as owners cannot always prove the dogs have been stolen.

But after pets have been suspiciously “found” and reunited with their owners in return for a reward, owners are being warned to be vigilant.

We can reveal:

• Breeders are warning each other to be wary of fake buyers who often visit to check where valuable dogs can be stolen from.

• Out of nine dogs reported lost in the Southampton and the New Forest areas during a three-month spell, six of them were said to have been taken away in the back of cars.

• In one recent case two terriers and a lurcher were stolen from the Hampshire Hunt kennels in Ropley, near Winchester.

Most Wanted

Dog breeds most frequently reported stolen include:
chihuahua,
Yorkshire terrier,
Labrador and
retriever.

Emmy Watt, honorary secretary at the Hampshire Hunt, said they are contacted by owners when their dogs are taken.

She said: “There’s been a number of dogs stolen over the last couple of years where the owners ask the rest of the hunt to look out for them and I know someone who had their dog stolen.

“These latest dogs were at the hunt kennels in a locked enclosure and it’s desperately upsetting for the owners.”

In another case a lurcher owner reported their pet going missing on a walk between Burley and Bransgore in the New Forest.

The owner was reunited with his pet when a man in Southampton phoned the number on the collar two days later and the pet owner remained sceptical about to how the dog had ended up in the city.

“When owners get a call from somebody saying they’ve found their dog they often know that’s the people who stole the dog but it’s your word against theirs and there’s no way of proving it,”

said a spokesman from Doglost.co.uk, a website set up to trace missing dogs.

She added: “There is a problem with dog theft and we know there are people in Southampton involved. People can be in their home and have their dog stolen from inside their house.”

Emma Baker, from Totton, breeds chihuahuas as a hobby and sells puppies for more than £500.

She has been warned by fellow breeders to be wary of thieves posing as customers.

“I did have people who once came around and they didn’t add up. They asked too many questions asking how many chihuahuas I had and where I kept them. It makes you cautious.”

‘Dog theft is rife’

DOG rescue groups are urging owners to have their dogs microchipped to make it more difficult for thieves to sell their dogs.

Carol Bolton has run the Warren Avenue kennels in Southampton for 20 years and has reunited dogs with owners up to four years after they were stolen – and all because the animal was microchipped.

She said: “There’s bound to be an element of dog theft going on and we’ve had dogs here which we found out were stolen.

“We didn’t know they were stolen until we checked the microchip and contacted the owners. They’ve said to us ‘Oh my god, we had the dog pinched four years ago’.

“So there’s no doubt dog theft does definitely go on. The crucial thing with microchipping is to keep your details up to date so that you can be contacted at the right address and on the right phone number.”

Denise Boardman founded Dogwatch UK when she had her English setter stolen in 2004 and said the breeds most commonly targeted are Yorkshire terriers, chihuahuas, Labradors and retrievers.

She said: “People will target dogs and they can be stolen to order and a lot are stolen down on the south coast.

“They can be sold on for £1,000 so having them stolen is a general problem.”

Margaret Nawrockyi founded Dog Theft Action when her dog was stolen.

“Dog theft is absolutely rife,” she said.

“You really don’t expect it and when it happens to you it’s such a shock.”

Mrs Nawrockyi said there are three types of theft: organised thieves who know what they want and how much money they can make, opportunist thieves who prey on dogs left outside shops, and spiteful thieves who take dogs to upset the owners.

“It’s an absolute nightmare,” she added.

SOURCE: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/9588833.Dogs_being_stolen_to_order/?ref=mr