© 2024 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Doggone It! Canine Thefts On The Rise

Mary Palmer brings Max in for a checkup at Belle City Veterinary Hospital in Racine, Wis., on Oct. 29, 2008. Max was stolen from his yard in Florida and turned up several months later in Chicago.
Scott Anderson
/
AP
Mary Palmer brings Max in for a checkup at Belle City Veterinary Hospital in Racine, Wis., on Oct. 29, 2008. Max was stolen from his yard in Florida and turned up several months later in Chicago.

Dognappings have risen 49 percent in the U.S. in 2011, according to data gathered by the American Kennel Club.

"We believe the increase is due to economic times," Lisa Peterson, a spokesperson for the nonprofit group, which has been tracking pet theft for several years, tells Weekend Edition Saturday guest host Jacki Lyden.

"You have people who want pets ... but can't afford to purchase them or pay the adoption fees, so we find that they're just taking them for themselves or to give them as gifts," she says. "But then on the other hand, you have the criminal element that steals dogs and tries to sell them to unsuspecting buyers."

Lisa Peterson of the American Kennel Club says the best way dog owners can protect their pets is to have microchips implanted.
Steven Senne / AP
/
AP
Lisa Peterson of the American Kennel Club says the best way dog owners can protect their pets is to have microchips implanted.

Peterson says the top two ways dogs are being stolen are during home invasions and out of parked cars. She cites a case in Florida where criminals took a 55-inch television set and also Boo-Boo, the Yorkshire terrier, with all of his belongings.

Tying up a dog in front of a store also makes it vulnerable for theft.

Dog theft can not only be traumatic for the owner, she says, but also for the dog.

"Dogs thrive on routine," Peterson says. "They're valued family members, so there's actually two victims to the crimes here: There's the owner, who's missing their lovable pet, and also the poor dog, [which] is suffering perhaps a little anxiety, not knowing what's going on."

Peterson says the best step dog owners can take to protect their pets, especially with recovery, is to have a microchip implanted.

There are also common-sense, close-to-home measures like not letting your dog off its leash or leaving it unattended in your yard.

In addition, Peterson says, dog owners should be cautious with information they tell strangers.

"We saw a man in Tulsa, Okla., who was approached by a man in a park, [who asked] about his adorable pit bull puppy," she says. "Then apparently the criminal followed him home and the next morning broke into the house, tied up the family at gunpoint and stole the puppy."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.