Your Stories
DTA is not a register of missing and stolen dogs. Links to online registries can be found on our 'Lost or Stolen?' page. These pages show how dog theft affects people all over the country.
Contact us at admin@dogtheftaction.com to share your experiences of dog theft, with "Your Stories" as the subject line.
Page 1
Jessie - Found!
Last Friday I come home to find my Dog Jessie missing. I contacted the dog warden who covers the west Oxfordshire area but Jessie had not been found. I contacted DTA to ask if dog wardens from other areas are in contact with each other about found dogs. The advice I received was very useful.
It was only by talking to dog wardens from separate councils around Oxfordshire and the good fortune of the kennel going on the LostDogs.uk website that we got Jessie back. She was due to be re-homed today!
We have now found Jessie; she had been taken and dumped about 10 miles from where we live. Jessie had been taken to a kennels near Bicester last Friday by a dog warden from a different area.
Why on earth are they not in contact with each other - it would have saved us so much stress, worry and sadness.
She is now back home safe and well and with us where she belongs. Thank you for all correspondence. If it has not been for DTA I would not have been clued up on how to get Jessie back.
Purdy
At 9 o’clock on the 18/09/2007 I let Purdy out on the green for her morning walk then I put her in the garden. Either I didn’t lock the gate properly or some one opened it but she got out and ran up the road to a school where a girl picked her up. The girl asked people if they knew who the dog belonged to and someone directed her to our house and she started to walk to my house with Purdy.
On the way she saw a friend and stopped to speak to her for five minutes. A black male came out of a block of flats and snatched the dog off her saying it was his friend’s dog. The girl couldn’t really do anything. The man took Purdy back into the flat.
I later went to the flat to ask the man if he had my dog. He wasn’t in so I returned in the morning but he still didn’t answer the door. I called up at the window and when he came to the window I asked him if he had my dog and he denied it. I said I was ringing the police. When the police got there he had already jumped out of the back window and run off.
The police were brilliant. They took statements. This man is well known to them. They said it was just a case of waiting for him to come back. I checked every day all-day. On the Friday morning at 8 am I saw his car there. I called the police straight away and they arrived within 5mins. The man was still in bed. They arrested him and took him to the police station for 12 hours. They asked were the dog was but he just said “no comment”. They had to let him go on bail and said they would organise an I.D. parade. He was arrested again for another incident and is now in prison. The police are doing the I.D. parade on Wednesday. So I’m just waiting for the outcome.
Purdy is a black and white Staffordshire Bull Terrier bitch. She is 11 months old and is microchipped. She was stolen from Mitcham in Surrey. A reward is offered. If you have seen this dog please contact Tony on 0208 286 8203 or 07940 001470
Puppies stolen from Enfield area
A few months ago, my friend’s dog became pregnant accidentally. We were all worried as Eve was a bit old to be having pups and had never had a litter before. The puppies came into the world on 16 June. It was a difficult and long labour but 7 out of 11 puppies survived. We fell in love with all of them and they all became special.
On the afternoon of Wednesday 25 July 07, someone broke into my friend’s flat and stole all the puppies. They just kicked the door in. I can't begin to tell you how heartbroken we all are, and how worried we are about what will happen to the puppies. Their mum is very distressed.
Please help us. There are people out there now who have just got a new puppy. We think that they could be in Haringey, but they have probably been stolen to order and may be anywhere now. We know that dog thieves/gangs operate in this area. The police are involved and have recovered one of the puppies and arrested a man. We've heard nothing since then.
Please, please, keep your eyes open. The pups are about 9 inches long and 6-7 inches tall. They are absolutely gorgeous. I have attached a poster, but remember they will be growing fast. My puppy, Sissy is the little white girl with two eye patches.
Please be creative. If you are going to the vet, tell your vet about it and ask them to keep their eyes open. Please forward this email. It just might reach someone who has some information for us.
If any of you has an idea how we can publicise our search, please let me know. I'm sitting here sobbing. Please look at the attached poster below, and PLEASE, PLEASE HELP.
POSTER: HAVE YOU SEEN THESE PUPPIES?
Dog taken at knifepoint
On
28th February 2007, my brother was walking our Staffordshire bull terrier and
a white transit pulled over and a man held a knife to him and told him to hand
over the dog. There were two other men in the van and one bundled the dog into
the van whilst the other remained in the driver's seat. I have done everything
I can, contacted local papers, put up posters, contacted local police stations
and registered with search organisations. The police haven't done anything as
yet!
2 black cocker spaniel bitches
We
have had our dogs stolen from the back of the car and we are devastated. We
have done flyers and put them on cars, in all major car parks in the area where
the theft occured. I have emailed or posted a poster to every vet, kennels,
rescue centre and pet shop that i can find in the Yellow Pages in the yorkshire
area. I have emailed as many news papers in a 50 mile radius, and I have put
them on most of the lost pet web sites. Can you offer any more advice or ideas
as to who to contact or who could help? Please find attached
poster of one of the bitches - we do not have a satisfactory photo of the
other, sorry. Any advice would be gratefully recieved .Thank you in anticipation,
Michelle.
NB.
You can contact via mobile on poster or tel 07795074090.
Scrappy
Scrappy
got out of my garden on Thursday 1st March 2007, at around 2pm. We believe he
was picked up by a passer-by very soon after his escape. Our hearts are broken
- we love him so much. My son searches everyday after school. We have contacted
dog wardens, police, vets, and put posters up locally and through doors, and
still no luck. I miss him so much. Ilive in a small village just outside Spalding,
Lincs. Iwill never stop searching. Contact: YORKIES247@aol.com
Rinty
I
am Pam Beaty and I am still looking for Rinty. She has now been missing for
2 weeks and Iam really distressed and losing hope of her coming home. She will
now be 7 months old. Lots of people came up to the Lake District for New Year
- she was picked up on 2/1/07 and she could be anywhere in the country. I have
done all the right things in trying to find her, eg. radio, vets, council, RSPCA,
animal shelters etc. Posters are up within a 3 mile radius. She is chipped but
the collar didn't say, so there is only the address but this would be easy to
remove. All her xmas toys have been left behind. I am getting really desperate
- please help me!
Blue - REUNITED thanks to a microchip
My
dog, an 8 month old Weirmerana bitch called Blue, disappeared from my garden
on the 9th October. She is microchipped and wore a collar. I reported it to
the police and immediately contacted police stations, councils, road cleaning
services and rescue centres. Since her disappearance I have put up over 700
posters (click here to download a poster)
around Kent and Surry with not one sighting. I have contacted internet-based
organisations who have helped me to search for my dog, and I have also contacted
all airports, cubs and brownies and the country parks.
A week after she disappeared, I received 17 text messages asking for £2000 or my dog would be hurt and her collar sent to me. I reported it to the police who are tracing the phone. They went to an address but Blue wasn't there.
The Kent Messenger published an article on the 26th October (Gravesend Edition). I received a tip-off that Blue had been sold to a youngish woman who is part of the 'horsey' set and that she was driven off in a 4 wheel drive, possibly a Discovery. She put an obedience collar on Blue, suggesting she is into dog training, obedience, agility or even gun dogs.
She may now be out of Kent.
I am distraught but won't give up. Any help anyone can give me would be much appreciated.
Click here to read the story of Blue's return...
Harley
My 14 month old Labrador, Harley went missing whilst out on a walk by Ketley Brook, Telford Shropshire, with my 10year old cocker spaniel on 9th July 2006. 2 days later Jet, my cocker was found by staff at a local college who called the dog warden, but there was no sign of Harley. I have been absolutely heartbroken (I still am) and although it has been over 9 weeks now I'm still not giving up hope, although now everyone is saying he must have been stolen.
I've put up and given out over 400 posters, had stories in local paper as I put up my only asset, my car, for Harley's safe return. I've even been on gmtv and Central News TV - but still no Harley. I've had lots of sightings but none have been Harley. There isn't a day or hour goes by when I don't think about him. Now it seems it just a waiting game hoping and praying that my lovely Harley will somehow get home to us. Harley was not microchipped or tattooed.
If anyone does have any information my number is 01952 402355 or 07733 044505
Megan - has been found!
I
am contacting you to ask for your help in finding our stolen dog Megan. Megan
was a rescue puppy we took home in January 2006. Her Mother was rescued from
a pound in Ireland in November 2005 found to be pregnant and was looked after
by someone there until all 9 of them were shipped to Brighton RSPCA early January
for rehoming locally.
Megan was stolen from my Mercedes x-police riot van parked in Ikea car park, Croydon (Purley Way) on Friday 18th August between 2 and 2:30pm. The thieves drilled and crow-barred out a small window on drivers-side front door (4ft off ground) and dragged her out and stole her and the side window they removed. I have a crime number from Croydon Police station (tel: 0208 6671212).
The IKEA CCTV footage showed me driving in at 13:41. I settled Megan and I then went into the store. I arrived back at van at 2:30 and unlocked door...but no Megan! I walked around the bus and found front section of driver's door window completely removed and stolen along with Megan! I then alerted security & police. I brought this particular x-police riot mini-bus because of its safety features for when I travelled around southern Europe in my early 20's. It has unbreakable polycarbonate plastic windows and extra security locks, as police did not trust the Mercedes locks. I thought it was very secure. I have now replaced the two front windows with reinforced glass so there are no visible rivets for them to drill out!
MEGAN'S DESCRIPTION: Megan is a 10-month-old, Greyhound bitch, probably cross saluki. Megan is sandy yellow coloured with black snout, black eye & eye brow make-up. She has a white/grey chest and a white under belly. She has white sox and a brown Alsatian coloured tail. Megan is about 26" tall. Megan has not been neutered and unfortunately has not been micro-chipped, as both procedures were due to be done at local vets, but sadly she was stolen before her appointment.
I have attached our Stolen Megan Poster; we have put 500 up across S. E. London and beyond the M25 in Surrey, Kent, Hertfordshire and have contacted all authorities and rescue centres across the South East. We were also featured in the Croydon Advertiser on Friday 25th August. We are continuing our poster & flyer campaign and any help or advice in reaching a wider audience would be appreciated. We think whoever stole Megan still has her and may still try to attempt to ransom her back to us. Or they may have sold her on to someone else simply as a pet (we hope), or for coursing or breeding (which we are extremely worried and saddened about).
Please look out for Megan wherever you go & look out for advertisements for Lurcher Pups in free ads like the Friday-Ad's and Magazines like Countryman weekly! Megan will probably be able to have her first litter of pups by December 2006, so please keep a look out for her! Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I lost my Mother in January and Megan had become my family and my ticket out of depression. I would be very grateful if you could help in any way, as we are devastated by the loss and are desperate to get Megan home soon!
Please call with any information about Megan 07889 592608 / 07796 693348! There are Cash Rewards for Information and also On Megan's Safe Return!!
Puzzle and Lily
My
dogs were stolen from my car on the 4 July 2004. Puzzle will now be 2 years
old, she is a typical lively Jack Russell bitch, she loved her life running
round with me at the stables, and she always followed me when I was riding on
the fields. Lily will now be 3 years old, she’s a beautiful Shih Tzu and Puzzle’s
best friend! Lily so wanted to be as fast as Puzzle but could never catch her.
Our life is so empty without them both. Libby our older Shih Tzu is always looking around the house for them and can’t understand why they are not there.
On the awful day they were stolen, we returned to our car to find the back door had been broken into and the girls had gone! It looked like nothing else had been taken but we saw their collars were lying on the floor. Poor Libby was shaking under the seat and would not come out.
We immediately called the police, they said go home we will come to your house, they later phoned and gave us a crime number and told us it had been logged it as a vehicle crime! I took Libby to the vets and discovered they had broken her ribs. My husband went back to where we had parked our car in Castleford, Near Leeds, West Yorkshire and he was told by locals that there had been some trouble with some travellers that day in a blue transit van.
We phoned the police who said they knew about these travellers but could not do a lot unless we had evidence. We found out where they were camping and went late that night to look round. There were about 50 Irish men on this site with loads of caravans. When they saw us they chased us off and were very threatening. We walked up the road and climbed up some banking at the back of their camp. To our horror we saw Puzzle in a cage behind one of the caravans. I immediately phoned the Police who told us to back off as the travellers were dangerous and they told us they would send in a squad car. We then sat in our car for two hours when they phoned back and said they could not spare anyone! They told us to go home and they would try to send officers in the morning if they were not busy.
I argued with them that the dogs will be gone by morning and they told me not to be melodramatic. By this time it was 3am in the morning so we stayed on guard in the car. At 8am I phoned the Police again and told them I was going in on my own and it was their fault if I got hurt. At this threat they then sent 2 squad cars and when we all went in half the caravans had gone! There had been another exit at the back of the camp that we had not seen in the dark.
I showed some travellers children my pictures of the girls and they told me they had been playing with them the night before. At this point hearing this I was totally beside myself and I collapsed, the police took me to hospital.
The Police asked me a few days later for some photos that they said they would put in the local paper, those photos never went into any paper and the photos were then lost whilst in police care. The only photos I have left to remind me of my two girls are the ones I have on my mobile telephone - and the quality of those is very poor.
These girls are my pride and joy and I will not give up my search, they are the last thing I think of before I go to sleep and the first thing in the morning. Have you been sold a young Jack Russell bitch or a Shih Tzu since last April 2004? Have you seen travellers with these dogs? The girls were not chipped or spayed. I am willing to pay £500 each to get my girls back. Please please help! Contact me on 01977 703268 and 07919 678067.
A Message from Crawley
Hi,
We just wanted to let everyone on here know, especially those in the Crawley
and surrounding areas that there is someone taking dogs out of gardens and even
breaking into houses to get them. Yesterday morning a man jumped over my fence
to try and get minka out. It was broad daylight, myself and my children were
up and even my friend who was in my shed at the time did not put this person
off. It looks like he was throwing food over the fence at some point, as we
have found food all over the place, but obviously when he didnt get her to jump
over he thought he'd come in and help her over. Im glad she is so lazy now!
My poor friend was absolutely terrified and she does not scare easily and I
only caught the tail end of things as i was in the shower and didnt hear the
commotion until he was scrambling back over the fence.
We use our side gate alot in the summer and it was only when the police arrived they noticed someone had tried to crowbar the front door open, most likely sometime during the night before. Im so glad they didnt manage to get in as Minka see's anybody as potential cuddles and would have gone with them. The police have said that there is a ring operating in the area and to be careful as they are likely to come back for another go. There are also advising us to be careful at the local parks and beauty spots as there have been incidents of dogs being taken from owners at knifepoint. They are not fussy about which dogs they take either, as if they cant sell them on they are likely to ransom them back to you. So anybody in this area please be extra careful when your out walking and even in your homes. And please pass this on to any dog owners you know.
