Dognapping

[MaggieTheCat]

Got this story from my new chiropractor today. We'll call her Dr. J. She got a new puppy for Christmas for her kids, a tiny little dog named Daisy. I forget what breed she is, but she's little, and she's only a few months old so she's especially little right now. Dr. J brings Daisy to work with her during the day since she doesn't want to leave her all alone at home when she's this little.

Last Friday, Dr. J was getting ready to go home. She carried her briefcase, laptop, and Daisy to the car, and put Daisy down for a moment to unlock the car and put her laptop and briefcase in the back seat. When she looked down to pick Daisy up (about 10 seconds after she put her down) Daisy was gone.

She looked all over the area near her clinic that night, to no avail. It was late in the afternoon when this happened, so she didn't go door-to-door that night, but she did the next day. Thankfully, she did find Daisy at a house down the street a few blocks.

As it turns out, when Dr. J put Daisy down to unlock the car, Daisy spotted a high schooler walking down the sidewalk going home from school. Daisy, being very friendly, ran right up to him, and he picked her up, tucked her in his jacket, and brought her home. He even looked at Dr. J when she started calling for Daisy, but didn't say a word to her.

When he got home, he told his mother that he found Daisy wandering around all by herself along the street. He said he took her and knocked on every door in the neighborhood trying to find the owner, but no one claimed her, so he asked if he could keep her, and his mother agreed. They went out and bought food, toys, a bed, etc. for Daisy that night. Fortunately, the boy's mother was very apologetic when Dr. J showed up the next day and gave Daisy right back. Don't know what happened to her son, though.

Seriously, what's wrong with people? The kid had to have known that Daisy came running from near Dr. J's car (she has her own clinic, which is very small with a small parking lot, and she was the only one there when she left Friday night.) Even if he didn't realize Daisy was her's, he looked right at her when she started calling for Daisy, and ignored her. And then lied to his mother about the whole thing! It really makes me sick to my stomach.

[Amina516]

Howd Dr. J know where to find the doggy?

And seriously...my son would be in a lot of trouble if he pulled this stunt. Its theft.

ETA: Forget it. I see she went door to door.

[LillFilly]

That is so sad and so terrible, but I've read similar stories to this. Right where I live a woman's 3-Pomeranians were dognapped from her car; they haven't been found even with a reward over $1,000. It's this whole status symbol thing of small dogs. People even steal them from pet stores and some stores have started keeping them under lock and key and installing video cameras.

Makes me wonder what else this kid has 'found' and gotten to keep!

And puppies like to roam; I recommend those extendable leashes.

[Erin]

Omaha has a serial dognapper.

This woman has stolen at least 3 or 4 dogs that I know of. Usually the story goes that there will be some small children out in the yard with a puppy. (small breed dogs, chihuahuas or yorkies) The woman pulls up in an SUV, gets out and either talks to the little kids and then grabs the dog and runs, or she just leaps out of the car, runs over and grabs the puppy and gets in her car to speed away.

I'd love to catch the woman. Anyone brazen enough and asshatish enough to steal a puppy in front of the small children that own it... She deserves to be buried up to the neck in dog poo and left out in the sun.

She got a couple of dogs last summer or spring, and a couple the summer before that. I hope she gets caught soon.

this news story may or may not have been her....if it was, she gets the urge to steal puppies in the winter too.

[Red_Dazes]

I know around out area we have a problem with dog theft. Usually the pure breeds. German Shepherds, Pit Bulls, Jacks etc. It is almost a weekly occurrence. One guy had 2 beautiful huskies... he had them playing in his, fenced in yard and heard them barking... not unusual for them when someone would walk by the fence. Then he heard car doors and no more barking. Ran outside just in time to see a truck round the corner and disappear. Never got his dogs back. Makes me sad what people will do...

[LadyAndreca]

My in-laws had one of their cats kidnapped (catnapped?) by a neighbor. She was half persian, half siamese (so, long-haired with soft siamese markings) and gorgeous, and a neighbor took her inside and never let her out. Funny enough, the cat was suddenly 'found' when a cash reward was offered--and she wouldn't give the cat back until she got the cash.

[BethB]

My sister nearly had her dog kidnapped. The little stinker liked to escape but my sister saw her making like Houdini and chased after her in like 3 seconds but in that bit of time an older lady and her grandchild(I assume) grabbed the dog and started walking away until my sister called for her dog. The older lady tried to play it off like they found her minutes ago and were looking for an owner. Not likely. My sister's dog was a Dachsund(sp?) named Daisy.

Honestly, just because a puppy or dog is outside does not mean it is fair game. If it was I would have a Boston Terrier in my possession. Story: my hubby, son and I headed out for movie rentals in the midday(summertime). Hubby takes boy to car ahead of me as I stay back to pay. My son was little and toddled to the car and my hubby opened the door and said something like "come on. let's go" and suddenly the terrier was in our back seat. It was funny. We looked around for an owner. a note: while all this was going down, a doberman in a truck just kept barking like mad. Anyway, I pick up the wanna-be stowaway and start looking for the owners who happened to walk out of the same store I did. Even funnier...they also owned the doberman. I guess he was barking at the other dog to "get back in the damn truck"

[Mystic]

No collar/license on the dog? Or did the kid strip it off it?

[XCashier]

And puppies like to roam; I recommend those extendable leashes.

With a harness. It's too easy for a puppy to slip out of a collar.

[Erin]

Those extendable leashes are a bit dangerous in my opinion. I've gotten rope burns from them when my aunt visits with her dog. Stella (the dog) has tried to run away while we're standing there, and if you're wearing shorts and she runs past you with that string/cable if it hits you just right...owww!

Plus, there's a warning on the leashes that says "Danger. Amputation Hazard". (if your fingers get caught up in the string and the dog runs by you fast enough, byebye fingers)

[MaggieTheCat]

No collar/license on the dog? Or did the kid strip it off it?

That was my first question, too. Apparently the dog is due to get a microchip this week, and she hasn't had her rabies vaccines yet, so they didn't think they needed a name tag and didn't have any other tags on her yet. They got an ID tag for her now, though.

[blas]

I'm physically ill hearing that there are people who steal puppies away from children.

I'm also ill hearing that a kid would think it was ok to just steal a dog and try to pretend he had no idea what was going on.

[zzapp the witch]

The boyfriend's dog, Red, disappeared from the ranch he was working in Ohio one night. Luckily enough, bf had a tracking collar on him, and he got an alert on his cell phone when Red left his predetermined area. Found him the next day over 65 miles away at a dogpound. The bf had been pinging his collar that night (until the battery went dead) trying to find him, and he was moving at 65 mph down the road. Talk about a canine land speed record!

He figured someone poaching saw him and stole him, then Red somehow got out of their car. The tracking collar was attached with a threaded D ring to a chain, then the chain was attached with a threaded D ring to the pulley, and the pulley attached to the run cable. They had taken the dog, collar, chain, and pulley. When Animal Control found him, he had no collar on. Whoever took him would have had to use some heavy duty shears to cut the collar off. He then apparently ran off and wandered over to someone's yard to play with their dogs and the people there called Animal Control.

He's a damn good dog, smart and well-formed. I can totally see why someone would steal him, but it still makes me sick to think about.

[CaroPhoenix]

My in-laws have 2 dogs, both part retrievers (the younger one looks completely like a lab).

During hunting season, they walk the dogs when they want to "do their duty". Otherwise, they're in the house constantly. Otherwise, hunters would be trying to drag them away.

Makes me sick and very angry, but there a lot of dishonest people out there.

I'm just glad to hear Daisy is back home!

[jedimaster91]

Some friends of mine had two beagle pups stolen out of their backyard last year. I hope whoever took them is taking good care of them, but I know that's probably unlikey.

As for my dog, she's an outside dog, but we have a 6-ft privacy fence on all sides and the latches are all inside the yard (so not on the outside of the gate). No one's getting in there without a chainsaw.