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We all attempt to maintain our canines protected and wholesome–and one essential a part of that security is stopping pet theft. Dog theft is on the rise and a really actual threat, no matter your canine’s breed.
Last Chance for Animals, a non-profit group which champions an array of animal rights points, helps to shine a highlight on Pet Theft Awareness Day and the plight of roughly 2 million companion animals within the United States who’re stolen every year. Statistics state that solely 10 per cent of stolen pets ever make their manner again to their households– others are offered, used as bait for canine fights, bred in a pet mill, offered to a analysis lab or left to face different merciless fates.
Preventing Pet Theft on Your Dog Walk
All canines require common train, however canine walks are a chief time for canine theft to happen. Below are the highest tricks to maintain your canine protected on a stroll:
Practice Recall and or use an prolonged lead: In case there may be an emergency or risk to your canine, it’s very important to make sure they’ll reply to your calls. Try carrying strongly scented liver dog treats in your canine as this may enormously help in recall.
Avoid Routine: Varying your canine strolling route makes it more durable for canine kidnapping gangs to trace you and work out when to intercept and steal your canine.
Walk with a pal: Where potential, go for security in numbers; a pal will present an additional witness and backup must you encounter a dognapper. Thieves could also be much less more likely to try a theft when two individuals are current as properly.
Do not give out your canine’s identify: Putting your canine’s identify on their collar, harness or ID might make it simpler for strangers to lure them over.
Stay conscious of your environment: maintain your eyes in your canine and keep away from distractions like cell phones. Try to all the time have a charged cellphone and never put on earbuds when strolling your canine.
Be seen and be heard because the proprietor: in order to make everybody conscious that the canine is yours and you’ve got a relentless eye on it, to discourage any dognappers.
Walk in open areas: when you really feel uncomfortable, attempt to go for open, populated areas the place you could be simply seen.
Follow your intuition: when you suspect somebody could also be following you or raises your suspicions, depart the world rapidly.
Keeping your canine protected whereas out and about
Avoid location tags on social media: this prevents thieves from understanding your tackle or the place you often attend together with your canine.
Extra vigilant: report any suspicious exercise you see.
GPS monitoring collar: think about investing in a GPS monitoring collar, this may mean you can know your canine’s location always.
Be cautious of strangers asking you a whole lot of questions: all the time be cautious of an unknown individual asking uncommon or fixed questions on your canine (each on and offline).
Dog strolling/kennel/groomer companies: all the time perform full, intensive checks to see if they’re reliable and respected.
Note emergency sos shortcuts in your cellphone: these may help when you really feel threatened or unsafe.
Carry an alarm gadget: these may help to scare attackers and entice consideration.
Refuse assist from strangers: except completely crucial, keep away from stranger’s provides for assist together with your canine.
Tint your automobile home windows: dognappers have been identified to steal canines from automobiles (though the most effective recommendation is never to leave your dog alone in the car, even with the AC on or on chilly days).
Put your self between your canine and the highway: stroll your canine away from the curb.
An grownup ought to all the time be in management of your canine: guarantee kids all the time stroll canines within the presence of an grownup as dognappers could also be extra more likely to goal these they see as much less doubtless to withstand.
Find native dog friendly stores: your canine is all the time most secure with you; find shops so you possibly can take your canine on a few of your errands or in any other case depart your canine safely at dwelling.
Preventing canine theft from your property
Protect dwelling and safe property: think about canine cameras, CCTV, and video doorbells.
Dogs are simply taken from gardens: particularly entrance gardens, so be sure that to safe your backyard with tall fences.
Lock and alarm gates: to stop undesirable intruders.
Leave a lightweight on in case your canine is dwelling alone: this may be useful within the night, so it appears like somebody is in. Alongside this, all the time flip an outdoor mild on for supervised late evening rest room journeys so you possibly can see your canine always.
Outdoor kennels also needs to be alarmed and locked: for any canines stored outdoor, guarantee kennels have ample safety.
Gravel your path or driveway: this makes it more durable for intruders to discreetly method.
Regularly take a look at your property alarm: to make sure it’s in working order.
Lock your canine flap when not in use: and don’t depart the window open within the room your canine is in.
Don’t showcase new puppies on-line: watch out oversharing any new pets; puppies are particularly useful to canine nappers.
Preventing Puppy Theft
Puppies that aren’t chipped are extra useful as they don’t have any ID: be additional cautious in defending puppies as they’re prime targets.
Be additional cautious with pedigree canines: they’re probably the most useful and due to this fact the optimum targets.
Neutered canines will deter thieves: as some thieves look to steal pets to breed them, a neutered canine might be much less of a goal.
When adopting out or promoting puppies, have another person current: limiting the variety of folks and exhibiting them in just one, safe space can defend your canines from theft.
How to Prove Your Ownership of Your Dog
Proof of possession: it can be crucial that you’ve got documentation of possession as a way to be sure that there isn’t any dispute ought to your canine be misplaced or stolen.
Keep ID collar tags updated: be sure that your present cell phone quantity and different contact particulars are on the tag.
Get your canine microchipped: this might be accomplished by your vet, it is going to be comparatively ache free for the canine and low-cost to do.
Be certain to take photographs of your canine: consider capturing many angles and any figuring out options. Take a photograph of you together with your canine too, and earlier than and after grooming.
Your canine’s DNA: when you’re actually frightened about canine theft then think about gathering their DNA to match afterward if wanted. There are companies that may assist with this.
Financial suggestions
Pet insurance coverage: be sure that this covers theft.
Be cautious with rewards: if providing a reward in your canine, be sure that data is right and your canine is discovered earlier than giving the cash.
Keep all of your paperwork protected: to be accessed in an emergency.
What is the Most Commonly Stolen Dog Breed?
Like Lady Gaga’s canine who was stolen (then fortunately reunited), the French Bulldog is probably the most generally stolen canine.
Here’s an inventory from Puppy Hero of canine breeds which are almost definitely to be stolen; as you possibly can see by the common value of those breeds, the worth of the canine is unquestionably associated to the probability of pet theft:
| Ranked by probability to be stolen, based on petkeen.com | Dog Breed | Price ($) in 2022, principally based on countryliving.com |
| 1 | French Bulldog | 2,112.70 |
| 2 | Bulldog | 2,747.82 |
| 3 | Yorkshire Terrier | 1,431.20 |
| 4 | Chihuahua | 1,248.95 |
| 5 | German Shepherd Dog | 1,305.52 |
| 6 | Maltese | 1,299.98 |
| 7 | Shih Tzu | 1,238.29 |
| 8 | Labrador Retriever | 1,572.67 |
| 9 | Poodle | 1,099.98 |
| 10 | Siberian Husky | 1,059.99 |
Pet Theft Awareness Day
In the US, Pet Theft Awareness Day is noticed each February 14.
Valentine’s Day is historically a celebration of affection that steals your coronary heart away, however this pet holiday can also be a time for all pet mother and father to guard their hearts from being damaged by the theft of their canine or cat companion.
Statistics state that one out of every three pets will become lost of their lifetime. Many of the lacking are by no means reunited with their human households, and may find yourself dealing with life in a pet mill or as a bait canine.
Make a date to see when you can test off all of the gadgets in Last Chance for Animals’ Pet Theft Awareness Day checklist, which is crammed with recommendation that would save your pet’s life:
- Have your canine spayed or neutered, which can each deter Rover from roaming and assist the issue of pet overpopulation–and make your canine much less interesting to thieves.
- Never depart your tail-wagging chum unattended in a automobile, outdoors a retailer, and even in your personal yard.
- Ensure that your canine can’t be seen from the road.
- Remember that these “free to a very good dwelling” adverts can come at a heavy value– the well-being of our four-legged associates. Replies to such adverts usually come from class B sellers who purchase free canines and cats to resell. If you must rehome a companion animal, contact a good rescue group.
- If your canine disappears, one strategy to enhance the probabilities of a cheerful reunion is to guarantee that your pet has each an ID tag and a everlasting type of identification, similar to a microchip.
- Keep a present snapshot of your canine and a written description with you always, in case of an emergency.
- Provide correct identification in your pet with an ID tag or have your canine microchipped.
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UK’s Pet Theft Awareness Day and Pet Theft Awareness Week
Pet theft is much from being solely a US downside, nevertheless; pet theft can also be on the rise within the United Kingdom.
In the US, animal lovers have designated Valentine’s Day as a date to find methods to protect their hearts in opposition to the lack of their canine or cat companion to pet theft. Across the pond, pet mother and father mark the somber pet vacation every March with each an consciousness day and consciousness week to mark Pet Theft Awareness.
The UK’s Pet Theft Awareness Day is March 14, and Pet Theft Awareness Week is the week starting March 14 every year.
How Did Pet Theft Awareness Week Begin?
A German Shorthaired Pointer who vanished in a white van throughout a supervised day of play together with her brothers and sisters in late 2012, Angel was by no means reunited together with her loving household.
Her reminiscence acts as a guardian angel for different harmless animals, nevertheless, because of the director of the social media-based group The Dog Union and a workers member at VioVet, who had been impressed by the seek for the misplaced canine and a social media graphic on the subject to create Pet Theft Awareness Week.
How Many Dogs Are Stolen?
According to a Pet Theft census, in 2013 a minimal of three canines and cats are stolen from their without end households daily within the UK.
The majority of pets (52 p.c) disappear from their household backyard, however thieves have additionally taken folks’s canines and cats whereas breaking into a house, run away with folks’s canine companions throughout canine walks, stolen pets as they wait patiently outdoors a retailer for his or her guardian, and even spirited away with companion animals who’re inside retailers. The causes for the legal act vary from ransom and promoting the canine on-line to breeding and canine combating, with small canines used as bait.
Sadly, 46 p.c of canines who disappear because of pet theft within the UK stay lacking one 12 months after they vanished. To flip the tide on the staggering statistic, Pet Theft Awareness Week provides the next recommendation to maintain your canine companion protected:
- A canine ought to by no means be left unattended outdoors a retailer whereas their guardian goes purchasing.
- Be conscious of environment when happening a stroll with Spot, as thieves have been identified to steal canines on constitutionals with their pet guardian.
- As greater than half of canines stolen had been within the household backyard on the time of their abduction, be sure that the world is safe.
- Take an image of your pet periodically to be used in case of your canine’s disappearance.
- Have your canine microchipped, and maintain contact information correct.
- Ask your vet to test your pet’s chip throughout every go to.
Pet Theft Awareness Day
In 2017, the Stolen And Missing Pets Alliance (SAMPA) created Dog Theft Awareness Day , an annual occasion held on 14th March and is the beginning of Pet Theft Awareness Week.
According to SAMPA:
Prevention and Advice is high of the agenda whereas explaining why we’d like more durable legal guidelines to behave as a deterrent to guard all our pets.
No one is protected from this crime, which hits households, the aged and the disabled. The lack of a companion and member of the family is devastating.
The Stolen And Missing Pets Alliance’s (SAMPA) first Dog Theft Awareness Day was held in Parliament in 2017.
Over the final 5 years, we now have seen a gentle enhance 12 months on 12 months and 2021 continues to surpass any expectations, with calls for for canines growing throughout Covid lockdown and the development continues with pet costs at an all time excessive.
SAMPA Patron Dr Daniel Allen’s #PetTheftReform canine theft figures might be launched on the 14th March, exhibiting the regional police FOI numbers.
We are delighted to report the because of our work on Pet Theft Reform and the assistance of Tom Hunt MP, Siobhan Baillie MP, Iain Duncan Smith MP, Robert Buckland MP and Priti Patel, the Government arrange a Pet Theft Taskforce which resulted within the information that Dog Abduction would turn out to be a particular offense within the Kept Animal Bill and is working its manner via Parliament now.
The new legislation will give courts entry to applicable custodial sentences to behave as a deterrent, present punishment, and defend the general public and provides the Police extra powers.
Our concern now could be what occurred to cats? Cats are household too! Our co-founders at PetTheft Awareness have recorded a cat theft enhance from FOI police information and their new report might be launched throughout Pet Theft Awareness Week. There can also be a petition to incorporate cats within the Dog Abduction offfence: Petition link to sign
Organised crime has been the driving power behind Dog Theft, which is a criminals dream job, as a result of it’s seen as low threat with excessive rewards. The new Dog Abduction offence will act as a deterrent and provides pet house owners extra safety.
Until the brand new legislation is in place to guard our canines they’ll proceed to be listed beneath ‘different thefts’ as second hand items with low substitute worth.
We know there have been many experiences within the nationwide and native press over the previous couple of months on the growing numbers of canine thefts and tried canine thefts. We simply need to level out that luckily the danger to every of us is low, and being Dog Theft Aware, will cut back the danger additional by following easy tips.
