Let's celebrate Christmas with theft!

[ComputerNecromancer]

This is terrible, but what freaked me out was finding out that stealing a dog is a FELONY in my state! They equate stealing a dog with murder and rape! It's heartbreaking to lose an animal, but I can't believe it's treated as the same level of heinous act.

Stealing more than some amount of money is a felony too. Rape & murder are among the worst felonies, but that doesn't mean that all felonies are that extreme.

*Threatening* to hit someone is often a felony (assault, actually hitting them is either "aggravated assault" or "assault and battery" depending on your state)

[greensinestro]

I hate it that we have people in this world like that. Not to mention people do things like this in broad daylight.

[Kittykat]

the local SPCA may have been called and took the puppy, here it's illegal to leave an animal in a vehicle, even a truck bed.

[ralerin]

Years ago, my mother had 2 beagles, purebred ones, worth quite a bit of money even for the time (late 70's/early 80's). They were both her babies but the male was her especial baby. One day, my parents were at work (self employed) and had left the 2 dogs tied up outside for a few minutes so they could pee. Suddenly, the female starts barking loudly and would not stop. Mom heads outside to find that a gang of boys (late teens and early 20's) were about to shove the male dog into their car.

"What are you doing?!?" My mother screams.

"Sorry! Sorry! We didn't know he was your dog!" the boys howl, they release the dog, then hop into their car and burn rubber.

The dog was unfazed, but my mother often wondered what they would have done to the dog if they had actually stolen him

[Lace Neil Singer]

There's a lot of dog stealing going on cuz of supply and demand. You see, a lot of people want pet dogs and they have to have pedigrees, not nasty mongrels, so there's a lot of theft as a result. Also dogs bred in puppy farms abroad and smuggled into the country to be sold on the internet. There's been several cases where a family has innocently bought a puppy, only for that poor little dog to die a few days later cuz it's terminally ill due to being bred in a puppy farm. Many of these dogs are inbred over and over, and taken away from their mothers too early, so they succumb quickly to disease.

Personally, if I was to get a dog right now, I'd far rather head out to the local dogs home and adopt one from there. Nothing wrong with mongrels to my mind. It's just that a lot of people nowadays are fixated on certain breeds of dog, which provokes crime and cruelty as a result.

[wolfie]

There's a lot of dog stealing going on cuz of supply and demand. You see, a lot of people want pet dogs and they have to have pedigrees, not nasty mongrels, so there's a lot of theft as a result.

But if someone steals a dog, they don't get the "papers", so it's effectively a mongrel that looks like breed X.

[NecessaryCatharsis]

But if someone steals a dog, they don't get the "papers", so it's effectively a mongrel that looks like breed X.

Don't know if it works on dogs, but you can get papers for some breeds of horses based on passing bloodwork and conformation tests alone. It's a lot easier for geldings, because they can't pass on the bloodlines, but it can be done for stallions and mares that display enough talent as well.

[greek_jester]

Don't know if it works on dogs, but you can get papers for some breeds of horses based on passing bloodwork and conformation tests alone. It's a lot easier for geldings, because they can't pass on the bloodlines, but it can be done for stallions and mares that display enough talent as well.

I'm betting that would cost, though, so it'd cut into the profit margin for the thieves.

I'm guessing they sell them to people who want a "purebred" dog but don't want to pay the price they'd have to with all the paperwork.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I'm betting that would cost, though, so it'd cut into the profit margin for the thieves.

I'm guessing they sell them to people who want a "purebred" dog but don't want to pay the price they'd have to with all the paperwork.

Or they fake the paperwork and people are too stupid or too naive to check that it's real.

[mhkohne]

Or they fake the paperwork and people are too stupid or too naive to check that it's real.

That was my first thought, then I thought - why not just sell the dogs to a breeder with no morals? They could fake the paperwork much better, and there's no trying to find buyers.

[Deevil]

But if someone steals a dog, they don't get the "papers", so it's effectively a mongrel that looks like breed X.

There are several registries out there that as long as the check clears, you can register anything (including cats, hamsters, goldfish, etc) as a purebred dog...and since the one I am thinking of off the top of my head is often what people see dogs in pet stores registered under, they don't know it's a sham.

[wolfie]

I wonder how that registry would go in areas that have breed-specific legislation. Person has a dog of prohibited breed X. They pay for "papers" through that registry, so they have "proof" that their dog is actually of permitted breed Y that looks similar to breed X.

[fireheart]

Don't know if it works on dogs, but you can get papers for some breeds of horses based on passing bloodwork and conformation tests alone. It's a lot easier for geldings, because they can't pass on the bloodlines, but it can be done for stallions and mares that display enough talent as well.

There was an episode of Bondi Vet that addressed this with dogs. A woman was wanting to make sure that her dog didn't have some fatal gene that particular breeds were known for having and her dog was a crossbreed. So they did the testing and Dr. Chris rocked up later in the show holding two dogs...the "parents" of the dog that was being tested!

I wonder how that registry would go in areas that have breed-specific legislation. Person has a dog of prohibited breed X. They pay for "papers" through that registry, so they have "proof" that their dog is actually of permitted breed Y that looks similar to breed X.

Or that the dog is a cross-breed. (I really do not know how breed-specific legislation works with cross-bred dogs)

[SongsOfDragons]

There was an episode of Bondi Vet that addressed this with dogs. A woman was wanting to make sure that her dog didn't have some fatal gene that particular breeds were known for having and her dog was a crossbreed. So they did the testing and Dr. Chris rocked up later in the show holding two dogs...the "parents" of the dog that was being tested!

I remember that, two completely random little-n-large dogs ^^

I miss that show, I don't get to see it much any more. He is hooooot...it doesn't help that the opening credits are basically him topless and surfing. My favourite episode is the one with Kettle the baby cockatoo: guess why they called him that XD

[fireheart]

I remember that, two completely random little-n-large dogs ^^

I miss that show, I don't get to see it much any more. He is hooooot...it doesn't help that the opening credits are basically him topless and surfing. My favourite episode is the one with Kettle the baby cockatoo: guess why they called him that XD

I love Bondi Vet too. And yes, he is hot