“I am scared of dog theft.” Owners can help prevent their dogs from being stolen.
- Harmony Holland
- May 5, 2021
- 4 min read
Dogs trust and Dogs for Good gives tips on how to prevent dog theft.
Dog theft has been in the media since the beginning of the pandemic, this article contains how to keep your dogs safe and what to do if your dog is stolen.
Dog theft is something that has always been in the media, however over the last year since the pandemic hit dog theft has risen by 250%. Many owners are worried about dog theft including Charlotte Holder who owns two mini dachshund cross mini poodles. She said: “I am scared of dog theft because it is becoming more common in my area and owners are actually now being attacked for their dogs.
“I walk my dogs alone so this is a concern. To prevent my dogs being taken, I make sure that I am walking a route I know, I have my phone fully charged and I'm prepared to either run with my dogs or try and resist an attacker. I do feel slightly better knowing that some dogs have been reunited but it's only a small portion of the dogs that have been taken.
“We always go outside with our dogs, they never go out alone, we lock all the doors after they come in. We also have an alarm and our garden is mostly inaccessible with high fences and no way to the front of the house from the garden.”
Over the last months there has been countless raids where police have found multiple dogs all thought to have been stolen, so for some it is good news and for others it isn’t good news, some dogs are sold off and never found again.
However, there are ways to prevent dog theft. The normal ways are to have bolts on the gates leading into the back garden, never leave a dog unattended in an open garden and to have security cameras.
Lee Paris, the senior campaigns officer for Dogs Trust said: “So, certainly never leaving your dog unattended whether that be in the back garden, certainly not tied up outside of a shop never leave a dog alone in the vehicle the dog is at risk of overheating and theft in those situations.
“A few other preventative steps that owners can do include ensuring your dog has a tag with your name and address on it so if it goes missing the dog can be easily returned and ensuring the dog is microchipped as well and ensuring the details are up to date on the database.”
Lee Paris also gave some advice on what things you can do if your dog does go missing. He said: “Report the incident to the police and ensure you are given a crime reference number. Following on from that it is important to notify your microchip supplier what they can do is put an alert on the microchip so it flags up as stolen dog if anyone tried to amend the. And, we have seen that people who create a bit of a campaign around their dog being stolen tend to have quite positive results in having their dogs returned by making the dog too hot to handle.”
As many people have seen there has been dogs stolen and returned, with one story a few weeks ago where a dachshund was found and the owner ran to go and be reunited with the dog. It was a heart-warming story, but it is well known that not all people get reunited with their pets.
Chris Muldoon, operations manager for Dogs for Good said: “Over the last few years, particularly in the UK, we have noticed an increase in dog theft and it ranges from the types of dog, to the breed of dog, To
the opportunity of thieves to access the dog. The other element that needs to be considered in this process is the availability of the dog becomes more pronounced, when you can see the dog, it is much easier to take the dog.
“In most cases dogs are being taken due to the resale value of the dog. There are a few things that owners can do to protect their dog from thieves, these things are similar to those that people do if they have a valuable item in the house. So, having good security, having bolts on the gates, making sure never to leave a dog unattended in a place where people walk by and see them. Another thing to think about is where you are walking your dog, if you are going to let your dog off the lead then are there other people around. It is a good idea to walk with other people and their dogs for herd security.
“Training is paramount for your dog to make sure they do not run up to strangers. You can train your dog to not react to other people and to not run up to people that they don’t know so the dog can’t just be carried away.”
Dog theft is treated the same as if your handbag or car radio was stolen. However, in January 2021 there was a petition to make dog theft a crime, the government responded that they are increasing the penalty for animal cruelty from 6 months imprisonment to 5 years imprisonment, which as the government says is the highest penalty for animal cruelty in Europe.
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