Stolen Dogs

Hello,

There has recently been an increase in dogs reported missing, many of these are currently suspected to have been stolen, either from a properly enclosed yard or from houses.

Many of these currently missing dogs are purebred puppies, however some have also been crossbred puppies and nearly adult dogs. Many of these missing dogs have been reported from Victoria to Queensland.

Some of the owners have posted rewards for the safe return of their beloved dogs — some dogs are found, but are not taken to a Vet to be checked for a microchip or are taken in because they look cute. Such was the case for a recently reunited dog and it’s family who had been searching for the dog for two years, but the people who found the dog did not check for the microchip to return it to it’s family and their home.

Of course, for some dogs the motive behind the theft of the pup is that the dog has been identified as a female or a male of either an uncommon overall appearance (meaning a certain coat colour, eye colour and markings) which would be valued in breeding. This has led to the theft of many dogs, male or female, family pet or show-dog over time for breeding value. In other cases, the stolen dog may resemble another dog and may have been taken as either a replacement or by a misunderstanding due to the similarity of the dog to perhaps the thief’s own missing dog.

To try and avoid the pain caused by having a beloved dog being classed as “Missing”, I would like to recommend the following:

 Have the dog microchipped
 Make sure your dog has a collar that will not break easily nor come off easily, with a dog tag with contact information on it OR have the contact information on the collar itself.
 If microchipped, all information must be up-to-date
 Have your dog neutered and spayed
 Make sure your yard is absolutely enclosed and if any holes are found near a fence, wall or gate and if any holes (dug in the ground or found within the fence or walls) are found that they are filled, sealed or boarded off properly to avoid having your dog leave the yard.
 If your dog may be able to escape your yard, try and remove their urge to do so by making sure they’ve been properly exercised so that he or she will not feel the urge to leave and explore the area.

 If you suspect that your dog has been stolen, contact your local Vet and have your contact details posted with the dog in question around the local area or even post them online (on sites such as the Trading Post or even the RSPCA) to try and find your four-legged friend.
If your dog has been located and found to be stolen, then contact your local police station to handle the matter.