Taken from Sky News 15th May Sky News

TWO £10K PUPPIES STOLEN

A global search is under way today after two £10,000 pedigree puppies were stolen. Ten-week-old cocker spaniels Cilla and Ozzie were snatched from their kennel in a night raid. The black pups, who were sired by a Crufts winner, had already been sold to breeders in Australia and the United States. Their owner, Sandy Platt, who has bred cockers for 25 years, fears they were stolen to order.

She has pleaded for their safe return and said breeders across the world were joining the hunt.

Ozzie was sold to Australia. Mrs Platt, who lives near Chester, said: "I have had calls and emails from breeders across Europe, America and Australia. They are all on the look-out for these pups and they are spreading the word.

"Anyone who knows anything about cockers will know about this bloodline. They are world famous.

"I just hope that whoever stole them will realise they are too hot to handle, leave them somewhere safe and let me or the police know."

A puppy, worth 10k!!! Honestly, is it not asking for trouble??!!

Admin edit to title

Surely they've put an extra nought on by mistake??

Would Sky have run the story if the puppies were valued at a couple of hundred pounds? Would they not be just another missing dog, like the hundreds of dogs that are logged on our missing dogs forum, including these puppies . You have to admit £10k got everyones attention ;-)

IS that the correct price then??

Blow me over.

Me thinks if so someone has too much spare money that could be put to some better use, Ie finding stolen puppies and rescues.

Pam

What is the point of stealing them if they will be unable to say what lines they are from ?? They won't be able to show them ? Do people buy the pups just knowing what Sire and Dam they are from without seeing them, I presume if the new owners were form Australia and the US ? Why pay that much as somebody has said before I have seen on other threads there is no guarantee that they will be show quality dogs ?? I am right in saying this ??

Lucy

Hi Lucy,

I would say you are bang on right. Some of the recent stories though sad and unfortunate beg the question "is it no wonder?" There is no guarantee that a champ with produce a champ, I think winning Crufts makes you a Crufts winner but that neither makes you a champ without the other 2 ccs.

Maybe the mind set is if the dogs are fantastic they new owners will try to pass the dogs off as their breeding , but as I am not a criminal I am not 100% sure LOL

Pam

I think that the thing thats getting to me is the fact that there is so much commercialism, in what should be seen, ethically, as a hobby. Its one thing to breed to improve lines, and win in the show ring, I can understand that - but to then go on charging what is seen to be a small fortune is nothing more than capitalising for financial gain...

If it isn't about the money (in these extreme circumstances) then why ask for so much for the puppy?

Chloe :)

They are charbonnel breeding

Charbonnel breeding ? Sorry not sure what that is ?

Lucy

But they're 'world famous', Lucy!!! The article said so, so it must be true! ;)

Oh silly me that Charbonnel :) Have had a look at the web site and they are offering a reward.

Lucy

Sandy Platt is certainly famous in the 'Cocker World' and probably to many others in the show world. Having built up a reputation over many years why shouldn't she command these prices obviously people value her stock enough to pay it for a show quality puppy, good luck to her. I'm willing to bet though that the anxiety she feels at the moment will not be for the lost money :(

The danger is that, with all the publicity, people are going to think "Wow, Cockers sell for thousands...let's start breeding them" and there we go again....... :(

Cockers are already a popular breed with unscrupulous breeders as there is always a demand for them, I doubt the puppy farmers dream of charging these sort of prices though :). Also see my comments below on the value of publicity.

This is my concern JG. People thinking theat Cockers can demand such high prices is not what we need.:(

I hesitate to say it, but this kind of publicity isn't good - advertising dogs as being worth 10K is bad for dogs in general (who are already seen as money makers) and pretty much ensures the dogs who have gone missing in this instance won't get returned :(

The other view is naming there high value has generated enough publicity to be on the local BBC news for instance, quite a long high profile article which talked about the parents being DNA tested making it imposible to incorporate these dogs into a breeding plan on the sly. The aim is surely to make them too hot to handle.

True...

My honest opinion is that I cannot, for the life of me, see how a ten week old puppy can be worth 10k. It may have champion bloodlines, but it still doesn't mean its guaranteed to do any good in the showring... Its a DOG for goodness sake. I can only see that its been hyped out of proportion. I'm sorry she had her dogs stolen, but you can't trust anyone or anything these days...

That is her Affix

Thanks !

Lucy

I could imagine that a puppy could maybe fetch £1000 if of particular bloodlines, and am rather inclined to beleive that the figure quoted was used in order to gain publicity.

The reporter is likely to have asked how much they were worth, and told they were priceless(as all our dogs are), and possibly asked what would they be worth to recover. Bit like Insurance values!

"These dogs are the equivalent of thoroughbred stallions or a Derby-winning racehorse. They are from a champion bloodline"
quote: Sandy Platt

No puppy is worth £10,000...it's bite can go or it may develop a skeletal problem and never be shown. If this figure is true, more fool the folk that have paid that price for something that has no guarantees....if it was an adult Sh.Ch. Cocker, I think that would be more realistic but a 10 week old pup???????????

Well when we bought our puppy from the states at 9 weeks we were charged the normal puppy price. The breeder has a reputation for a lovely line, but her puppy prices are very reasonable, and she is renowned for refusing to sell a pup to those who are just interested in show campaigns (this is in the USA, where many top show dogs are on the road for months and are rarely home with their owners).

The average price for Pups in our breed there seems to be $500 to $1000, obviously depending on quality of bloodlines.

To the breeder though her pup is priceless, and she made it quite clear that if for any reason we did not want to keep him (as if we would) then she would have him back at her own cost, which is a lot more than what we paid for him.

Our Dogs are Priceless. Someone could offer me money for one of mine and I would refuse it, but if I wanted to rehome one of them they would be worth just a donation to rescue!

As for value of potential breeding. A responsible breeder would only have at most 3 or 4 litters from a bitch, and her upkeep for 12 yuears or more would certainly cost more than any perceived profit from Puppy sales.

The campaigning and upkeep of a Stud dog would also not likely be covered by Stud fees, as there is a limited usefulness of any dog in a breeding program, especially once there are a lot of his daughters to be bred from, or good sons coming on.

I still think it is the press that have given the id3ea of a monetary value to these pups, as I am sure that the sum mentioned is not what the breeder has sold them for.

True :)

But how can a dog, even sired by a crufts champ, be worth 10K??!! does it lay golden eggs?

Might have golden balls :p :D

Lucy

:D

Maybe I've missed something but why where pups (worth 10k) in a kennel and not indoors?

liberty

They are 10 weeks old, it's not unusual for puppies in show kennels and destined to go to show homes to live in kennels. I like my dogs in the house but cockers don't seem to come to any harm living out with other canine companions.

I think the point is - would you put a watch, for example, that was worth 10K in your garage? I wouldn't...

The trouble is all her dogs will be valuable, but maybe your right, maybe the day has come when nobody can safely keep show dogs in kennels :(

I don't know much about showing but would you really be able to make a profit out of the dogs? Whether they were obtained properly or through theft? A theif will have no papers and since they are supposed to be "so famous" even showing them would atract too much media attention so seems kinda pointless. Also if you really buy a dog for that much can you ever really win that much back? I guess it would just be for the prestige of it. Apparently the new owners had already paid a deposit and if my memory serves me as correct i think they were going abroad. (don't quote me on that though!) Mind you i think it is kinda sad, there are so many lovely dogs that need homes - not show dogs granted but 10,000 could do wonders for all the dogs homes. I must admit my dog is not pedigree, shes a cross, and i got her from a breeder. But i did feel so guilty for not getting a rescue dog, even though my circumstances would mean that i would never have been accepted.

well i dont think that after this news programme that she will have a snowball in hells chance of getting them back cant for the life of me think why anyone would advertise the value of stolen pups .
were they insured perchance? if so and even so advertising the value is stupid
IMO

I think it is in the hope of encouraging a lot of publicity and therefore making them too hot to handle, Mattie, I believe such tactics have worked in the past. Its certainly got it talked out here :).

It didn't help with Shergar, though, did it? :(

Edit: And 10k was chicken feed compared to what he was worth.

Oh Goodness I hope not Jeangenie, but wasn't it rumoured that Shergar got the chop because he was stroppy and hard to deal with, two little puppies should be a lot easier to handle.

Why is everybody assuming that the breeder concerned did say all the things exactly as reported? I have yet to read a dog related news story which could be said to be totally accurate - have you? We all know the mainstream press frequently gets it wrong when they talk about anything to do with dogs. I can't believe the snideness which is coming across in some of these posts! The breeder concerned is one of the top Cocker breeders in the UK & certainly her breeding is in demand here & overseas. I imagine she gave this story to the national press thinking that the more publicity there was the better, with the aim of making whoever has these pups now think again. Maybe this strategy was a mistake (certainly going by the reaction here, it was) but if these were your pups missing, wouldn't you do everything you could to get them back? Who knows how we would react if this happened to one of us? It's easy to be judgemental when you're not in the situation this breeder is in :-(

Hear Hear Jane

I'd do anything if I thought it would get my babies back where they belong!!

It was Sandy herself talking in the BBC report Jane, I think the strategy could prove good, I don't think the reaction here is important (sorry Champdogs :)) its out in the real world that counts and as we know it has succeded in getting coverage on SKY and the BBC thats got to be helpful. Here's hoping anyway, its must be an awful thing to go through and worrying about what to do for the best must add to the stress.

hehe, I heard Shergar was over in Ireland, ina field looking very thin, and ill, at one time!!
Mind you we hear lots of stories don't we?

I cannot believe that a dog....any dog would be worth 10K to anyone except its owner (champion or not), and lets face it.....most of us would give anything for our 'babies'!!
Not long ago, some pedigree JRT's were taken from a place just down the road from us...3 pups...so I think it was definitely somebody who thought they could make money out of these dogs. (it's frightened me....but my dogs bark at their own shadows, so i think we'll be ok!!!!)
I really just don't understand how these people can think they can make money....I mean, 'real' breeders rarely make money from their dogs, so how does some idiot expect to do it from a stolen dog without papers??

It's horrible to think our dogs are not safe, but this seems to be happening so much lately.

Just having a moan!

Take care

Lisa

OK - this is not my opinion - but here goes

If the person who stole these puppies was not fully aware of their value, then surely it has now made them more of a trophy than before? And what if the person who took them is even less sympathetic as they are now sitting there thinking that the breeder has made enough money already out of such a high profile litter that she doesn't need these two back? People do not like to see other people being successful - look at the animosity toward lottery winners!

I feel very sorry for this breeder, I wouldn't wish whats happened on anyone, especially after hand rearing them.. but I think that sensationalist reporting is not a good thing :(

Chloe

Lucy and Meg,

I know someone who sells her pups for £5000 each and each litter she has the price of one pup goes to a dog rescue center.

James

Oh James that is nice and very unusual so rescue gets £5000 on each litter does it?

Did everyone miss Sadie's message on 29:04:03. "£20,000 for a Dog" Yes people to do pay a lot of money for dogs. I know I would do anything to get my dogs back. I had a pup stolen 12 years ago and the police weren't interested, the local paper refused to advertise it as stolen (bad publicity) I could only say it was lost. I can't wait for the day that dogs could be implanted with a homing device like the "Tracker" system. Knowing that your dog could be found within an hour might make people think twice about stealing them!

The pups may not have been sold for 10K but that could potentially be their
worth if you consider the 'breeding' potential.
As if they are from valued breeding lines, people will want pups by these
lines. So stud dog use (if one puppy is male) don't know how much a cockers
stud fee is. Then also feasibly how much do show quality cocker puppies go for? Don't know
how many litters 'show breeders' allow their cockers to have etc.
So you see if the pups owners had paid £1000 for the pup and then you
add in if they are going to be bred from and be top show winners themselves
I guess you could quite easily come up to £10K as how much they'd be worth
to their owner/breeder in the dogs lifetime.
Just another possible thought?

I totally feel for this breeder and am completely in agreement that people would try anything to get a dog back I have also had a dog stolen allbeit for a few hours I was unconsolable what I feel here is to let people know value makes its worse as now we will be extra paranoid at shows because the kind of low life that steal dogs will now assume every show dog is worth a lot of money and lets face it and Ive said this before how many of you display your pedigree petfoods "best puppy at " Stickers in your car ??? how many of us go along to a champ show or any show in fact and see the "caution show dogs in transit "stickers you may as well have a " I have just been to the bank and drawn out £1000" sticker in !.
And also someone on here once raised the point of the fact that at every show we have our names,addresses etc displayed in the catalogue even email addresses so we are wide open to fraud.
People in this Day and Age who will mug an elderly person for a fiver will certainly not hesitate at stealing a dog.
I hope and pray they get these dogs back but going on the television showing all their other dogs to the world to me is very worrying. Just My humble Opinion

Just think how you would feel if this happened to you.

And these two puppies were actually hand reared so how would you feel if you had hand reared these two puppies and somebody then came in and snatched them :( :(

Charbonnel

To me not that I have ever bred a litter - having to hand rear them would make them priceless.

Dessie :(

I agree - as I have said many times, I feel very sorry for the breeder, but I don't think that sensationalist reporting does anyone any good. They have taken a risk reporting the value of the pups, and I sincerely hope it works out for them.

I am also aware that a 7 year boy is missing from his home, Daniel. My thoughts are with him and and his parents right now :(

Rather puts it into perspective, doesn't it, Chloe? :(

You will all be pleased to hear the puppies have been found in the Merseyside area and arrests have been made.

Pam n the boys