It might not be up there with burglary or other types of property theft, but dognapping is on the rise, says American Kennel Club spokesperson Lisa Peterson, who tracks dog news around the country.
Police reports don't make a distinction between pet theft and other property theft, so there's no way to pinpoint the exact number of stolen pets each year, but anecdotally, officers say that pet theft is increasing this year.
"More people are reporting it and it seems to be occurring more frequently," says Lt. John Kerwick, president of the U.S. Police Canine Association, Region 7, New York, an organization of officers who work with police dogs.
In the first five months of 2008, the AKC noted three times as many dog thefts as the year before. (The organization tracked 30 from news reports and customers; the entire year before they only recorded 10.)
Toy breeds, puppies, and purebred dogs that look expensive or unusual are most vulnerable, says Peterson. Among the stolen breeds tracked by the AKC in 2008 are Yorkshire terriers, poodles, Pomeranians, shih tzu, bulldogs, corgis, a Norwich terrier and a mastiff.
Plus, people increasingly view their pets as members of the family and are willing to cough up big rewards if they go missing.
Some thieves walk off with puppies from pet stores and animal shelters or take dogs tied up outside stores and coffee shops. Others break into cars where dogs have been left while their owners run an errand. Some have even posed as prospective puppy buyers to case breeders’ homes, breaking in later to snatch the dogs, says Peterson.
Kerwick, the policeman who works with canines, says that while some dogs are targeted for stealing, most dog thefts are crimes of opportunity. “The average guy doesn’t wake up in the morning and think about stealing a dog for a family member or himself, but the dog is there, there’s no one watching, and they take him,” he says.
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