A question that has always been in the back of my mind is should you ever give up hope ?

I am not sure what I would ever do if one of my girls was lost or stolen but I know I would be devastated :(

I often follow lost/stolen threads on many sites and sometime think when is it time to move on ?

I sometime feel reading some of the posts I read that it is time to move on as I feel it is almost clutching at straws :(

I know that is is wrong but all I feel is total heart felt sympathy will all the people who have are in this situation

I wonder what the success rate is as would have thought within a short timescale is high on success rates :)

I guess the chances are slim. 

A pup that my dog sired was stolen from his kennel when a small pup and I often think about him.   When I see spaniels with similar markings to his, I often wonder where they got their pup from.  We've still got his papers.

All you can hope for is that wherever they are, they are being fed and treated well and perhaps loved a little bit.

Yes that is what you need to focus on that they are with somebody else and being well looked after :)

Luckily I didn't get chance when Lana was stolen almost 4 years to the day.  Fortunately for me they must of got fed up with her within 4 days as that's when the sightings started.  Luckily for me Lana managed to find her way back to my parents at midnight 2 weeks later.  She now hates children and isn't keen on men.  I was nearly two stone lighter in those 2 weeks, unfortunately I've put it back on and more!

Its horrid, isn't it?  Not a method of weight loss to be recommended.

Did Gwen ever get her dogs back?

If you are at Crufts on Saturday or Sunday, go and register your support for the Dog Theft Action Group in hall 2.

The most commonly stolen dogs at the moment are Springer Spaniels followed by staffordshire bull terriers, labradors and cocker spaniels, then in the top ten come retriever breeds, working breeds, terriers and hounds/lurchers. With designer breeds growing in popularity we suspect the toy breeds will soon start to rise  in numbers stolen.

Paul Doyle the well known artist has donated a picture of a springer spaniel to the DTA. Anybody giving a donation Saturday or Sunday at Crufts or via the DTA web site after Crufts will be placed in a draw, to win this picture. Paul will be on the art stand next to the DTA stand with more examples of his work. Paul chose a picture of a springer to highlight that this is the most commonly stolen dog in the UK at this time. The print normally retails for £125 but Paul is going to add extra drawings to make this print totally unique, so it will be worth a lot more if resold. It really is a beautiful print, and I for one will join in and make a donation to win this!

If everyone who owns dogs and is worried about dog theft donated the DTA could get the penalty for dog theft made stronger, they could set up the national database for police, councils, vets and rescue centres to try to help owners become reunited with their dogs.

I could never give up hope, no matter how long - not until the likely lifespan of my dog had been and gone.  I was on the phone to the national tattoo register yesterday (getting my two done v. soon) - she told me they recently had a dog turned in 3 years after it was lost/stolen.