Dogs are still getting stolen in the West Susse Area - seems to be around the Worthing, Pulborough, Billingshurst and Storrington area

Missing Dogs Admin Note:  Moving to General as Missing Dogs is for specific dogs rather than general chat

it is also happening here in Scotland around Tayside, a lady had her 2 retreviers stolen lovely dogs one liver and white and one black and white, also the gamekeeper in the are had his dog stolen, i am sure they are stolen to order, the more unusual the better :-(

Isnt this just a terrible thing!! Its so awful,this is what people do for money, hope they burn in hell. I cant imagine how i'd feel if this were to happen to me. I really hope they get their dogs back but I do wonder, how many do? I must admit that when I see older dogs for sale as oppposed to 8week pups, I wonder if they are stolen.

kat

A good reminder to people to have their dogs chipped and/or tattood, at least if they are recovered you have proof of ownership!  Alas the majority of pet owners whose dogs have gone missing appear not to do this if you look at the stats........................

I agree, micro chipping is the way to go. However, this should be backed up by vets. What I mean is, if someone buys a dog (they dont know its stolen) they usually take it to their vets at some point, the vet would then register the dog to that owner, right. Well, why doesnt the vet then scan the dog to check for a micro chip?? If ALL vets did this ROUTINELY, how many dogs would be returned to their rightful owner??

kat

Probably none, kat! The problem is that even if the vet does scan the dog, and does check the chip number there is nothing legally he can do about it! Yes it's a stupid law, but under the Data Protection Act his hands are tied.

What is even worse is if the Vet nurse or other employee scans the BVA instructs them NOT to tell the owner about the dog ?????????????

So whats the point of micro chipping then? When no-one can tell you its your dog??

kat

If it is handed in as a stray, then you can be told, if the dog warden or vet scans it. If someone brings the dog to the vet saying it is theirs, however, there is nothing the vet can do about it.

Thats just mad

Yep! :(

The BVA instructions are that if anyone at a vet practice other than a vet scans an animal & finds a microhip they are not to inform the owner mad yes but I would think that must surgeries would break the rules, but it is not right in the first place

Of course if a piece of property(this includes all animals) is permanently marked(ie branded/tattooed in the case of an animal) you have by statue law to try to trace the owner !

A major advantage in tattooing then.

I had no idea that owners would not be informed when lost dogs are scanned this is absolutely ridiculous, what are we to do. Surely the same applies then to identifying a tatoo number.

No it doesn't as the property(ie the dog)is permanently marked the law applying to found property applies which is I wrote before you must attempt to reunite the property & the owner. It's the same as if you found a car, mobile phone credit card etc. Animals are consideed property at this time in the UK

How I understand it is that lost dogs will be scanned and the owner informed. Stolen dogs, however, or those which have been bought in good faith, which are scanned when presented to a vet by their 'owner' are a different matter. If the person with the dog says 'It's my dog' there is bog-all that can be done about it.

Stray, found or stolen dogs scanned by vets will have their owners notified, but like I keep saying if they are scanned at the surgery by anyone other than the vet the rules are the owner is not informed. Stupid but those are the BVA rules.

Also anyone finding a chipped dog/cat is NOT obliged by law to find its owner nor return the dog as it is not permanently marked, as chips can be removed from the dog/cat-tattoos however cannot be removed from the dog/cat as they are in the skin tissue rather than being under the skin & are in law permanent marks

Eventually I suppose the law will change if someone challenges it in the courts

Question:

If someone presents "their" dog at a vet's surgery and the vet scans it how on earth are they supposed to know who it belongs to without checking the Petlog (and any other) databases?

I can't imagine vet's taking the time to check every microchip against the database - it would take hours of their time surely

I doubt that vets scan every dog they see, for one thing they would be wasting their time with mine as they are all tattooed & have no chips

I think they only scan if asked so if a dog was lost/stolen etc & had a new owner unless the new ownet asked they would npt be scanned & if the new owner had the dog chipped again & the two chips were fairly close to each other they would affect the scanning & corrupt the data read on both(their were some tests done some years ago)

HI

In Denmark you have to get your dog chipped or tattooed, its required by the law.

Jeanette

The problem is getting a lot worse. My dog was stolen about 2 months ago from out side a shop. My brother was in the shop for a second and realised Wheeler was gone. At first he thought he might have escaped but everybody saw a man dragging him by the collar in to a white van. I was so up set, you just have no idea where they are or what their doing to your dog. Luckily a lot of people saw the thief drag wheeler and he was caught on CCTV. We had a lot of help from so many people and doglost who were great and the police were helpful to. After about 2 weeks we got a call from a man who said he saw wheeler with 2 gypsy kids and he called the police. The police found wheeler in a gypsy field, very close to where we live, and bought him home. I cried when i heard he was home. I was just so happy. 2 other stolen dogs were also found at the gypsy site which was great. Ive got to say I have absolutely no respect for travelling people now. Im not starting a debate but a lot of the time its THESE people who have the nerve to steel dogs and other things. Its just sickening. I live in a nice little village and it came as such a shock when he was stolen and now a lot of people have stopped tying their dogs out side shops and it has made people afraid. I now regularly check dog lost for lost dogs in my area so I can warn them about the gypsy site in Effingham, Surrey.       

I'm also amazed by the number of breeders who put their addresses on their websites - effectively telling theives where to find their dogs, as well as listing their championship credentials... Perhaps it is not usually the dogs with the impeccable pedigrees which the theives are targetting, but I wouldn't want to risk it.