"Dog Napping" Just those two words send a shiver down your spine. The problem is this is an everyday occurrence and anyone that has a dog should read this. There seems to be three types of dog nappers. The first type will steal your pet for ransom so that you pay them an amount to get your beloved dog back. They could steal your dog from anywhere, your back garden, your car, in the park etc. You of course will try anything to get your dog back. Posters and adverts in the local paper can be very effective. Anyone that has pet insurance can usually get this covered on their Dog Insurance policy. The phones then rings and the caller tells you that they have your dog. However, before they will return it to you, you have to pay a ransom. This is usually set at a price that they know you will pay.

What alternative do you have? Of course you will pay the money and they know it. The second type is where they will take a dog just to sell it in a pub or at a car boot sale. It is hard to believe but people do actually buy a dog this way. Sometimes only a small amount of money passes hands. This is usually money just to feed someone’s habit so £50 or so is better than nothing. The third type is where a dog could be used for breeding or indeed, they may steel the puppies. Although they would not be able to be Kennel Club registered, a lovely Labrador puppy being advertised for £250 is a steal - literally.

There are plenty of people that are not necessarily bothered to get papers for the dog. They just want a family pet. Therefore, stealing a breeding bitch or an uncastrated dog could potentially bring in quite a nice tidy sum of money, especially as some bitches could have 10 puppies. So please be very careful. Don’t be one of the thousands of people that think it could never happen to them. This is going on everyday in Cities and in the Countryside. Make sure you keep your eyes and ears open. If you hear of a dog being offered on the cheap please make sure you alert the Police and put this on one of the many lost dog websites.