Dog theft warning as cases rise 33% in the South East
Dog owners have been warned to be vigilant after a big rise in reports of pets being stolen across the South East.
Cases have increased by 33% in the region since 2018 – to a high of 163 last year – according to data collected by the website Dog Lost.
A private investigator, who specialises in such cases, has told ITV News Meridian the situation is “very, very bad” with many of the criminals “desperate” and “increasingly using violence”.
Colin Butcher, from the Pet Detectives agency, added: “It is only a matter of time before we have a very, very serious incident where somebody’s badly injured, or worse they are killed, trying to prevent the theft of their dog and that is just intolerable.”
Since the first lockdown last March, there’s been a big rise in demand for puppies and pedigree dogs, making stolen pets more valuable to criminals.
Islay the border collie: feared stolen on 21 January
It has been almost four weeks since Elizabeth King last saw the family's beloved sheepdog Islay. She disappeared from their farm near Maidstone, Kent, on 21 January.
A trawl of CCTV images revealed an unknown truck had pulled into the yard shortly before she vanished.
Nellie the Belgian malinois: attempted theft in the street
Two men attempted to snatch Nellie the Belgian malinois from her owner, Toby Currier, near his home in Portsmouth on 28 January.
“Thankfully, as the guy lunged in to grab Nellie’s lead she reacted and started barking at them and lunging towards them, which startled them and they just ran off,” Mr Currier said.
He has stopped walking her at dusk but doesn’t want the experience to affect him too much. “It has definitely knocked my confidence but I wouldn’t let it stop me going out because that means they would win,” he added.
Owners carrying whistles and rape alarms
Alison Standbridge is the founder of Paws2Rescue which rehomes rescue dogs across the South East.
She has started carrying a whistle with her, to attract attention if someone tries to snatch her dogs and Kerry Heselton, Head of Adoptions at the charity (pictured), carries a rape alarm.
At King’s Park in Bournemouth, some residents have organised patrols to deter would-be dognappers. While in Eastbourne, volunteers have recently joined a national campaign to distribute whistles to worried owners, called 'DogHorn'.
Sammie Kelt, who’s involved in the project, said: “If you have these lanyards and high-viz vests on, to a potential thief who spots you from a distance, they’re going to think ‘they’re attack ready’. It’s a deterrent more than anything.”
Last month, people in Dorset were warned that criminals were impersonating RSPCA officers to try to get access to dogs.
Advice to dog owners: keep an eye on your pet
The National Police Chiefs’ Council recently issued new advice to the public, which included recommending not to leave pets tied up outside shops.
Colin Butcher recommends owners try to “look through the eyes of the thief” and access “what makes them vulnerable.”
His agency has identified four distinct categories of thief, with ‘opportunists’ and ‘specialists’ responsible for the vast majority of crimes.
More than 190,000 people have signed an online petition calling for dog theft to be made a specific criminal offence. In response, the government said: “Current court sentencing guidelines for theft already take into account the emotional distress that theft of a family pet can have on owners, and already recommend higher penalties for such offences.”
In a recent radio interview, the Home Secretary pledged to look at measures to tackle “absolutely shocking" pet thefts. Priti Patel said she was "looking into what kind of measures can be put in place in terms of the criminality".