Missing - presumed stolen!

RELIEVED Owner reunited with pet as spate of dog thefts continue

“That was the plan - to get so much attention for Meg to make it impossible for whoever took her to move her on.”

When Zara Dunne realised her two-year-old Springer Spaniel was missing on August 3 last, she knew in her heart that the playful pooch simply hadn’t run off.

Worried by the rise of suspected dog thefts countrywide, Zara immediately zipped into PR mode, taking out ads in The Anglo-Celt newspaper and online and circulating pictures of the uniquely marked Meg on social media.

Then on Sunday last, August 10, exactly a week after Meg first went missing near the N3 Belturbet bypass, Zara’s phone buzzed. The call was from an unregistered number. It was a male voice. The demand was simple: Money for information on Meg’s whereabouts.

“They knew where she was and were looking for money for that information. It sounded very dodgy. They wanted it sent through Western Union,” said Zara.

She didn’t make the transfer - aware of “hoaxers” only too willing to take advantage of those searching for their beloved pet.

But Zara believes it’s more than mere “coincidence” she got the call “and suddenly Meg appears back the very next day”.

Thankfully a neighbour recognised Meg and called Zara.

“I think they got scared because she got so much press. That was my plan all along, to make her so hot they couldn’t handle her, that they had to let her go,” surmises the relieved pet owner.

Meg has a heart murmur, which only added to the anxiety for her family.

Since taken, Meg lost weight and, when returned, was quite dehydrated. Despite that, Meg is settling back in well and is “absolutely delighted” to be home.

Zara said: “When we went to pick her up, she came running out as soon as she seen us. She was okay, she knew she was safe.”

She hopes Meg’s return will give others missing their dogs a sense of hope.

“The thing is to make thefts like these so public that the people doing it are scared to move them [animals]. They would have no problem selling Meg I don’t think, a young dog, really pretty, really friendly, only she got so much press time. I really have everyone to thank for her return,” says a grateful Zara.

Gardaí meanwhile are understood to be following a “definite line of enquiry” following the theft of five grey-coloured Schnauzer pups from a house near Virginia last month.

The theft at Burnia shocked many, particularly as the puppies were just five weeks old and far too young to be away from their mother.It’s one of several such incidents reported locally in the last two months.

Some dog and home owners have highlighted the mysterious appearance of chalk-markings or cable ties on house fencing, gates and walls, believing they are being used to mark out houses for would-be dog nappers.

Two days after Pamela Tierney’s 15-year-old collie mix went missing from the Muff area of Kingscourt on July 20, her neighbours reported seeing a man standing outside their house attempting to steal their dog in the early hours of the morning.

Fiona Corby from Cavan Town reported another such incident to gardaí after finding a cable tie on the back gate of her home. She believes her family may have even been followed home while out walking their dog.

Fiona cut the cable tie from the gate but the very next night her gate was “tagged” again, as well as her neighbour’s.

“It’s awful scary to think someone is watching you while taking an evening stroll with your family pets. Our two dogs are house dogs - two friendly dogs that would lick the thieves to death,” Fiona adds. “Quick money for them. They have no care to the devastation left for the families and the distress caused to the dogs.”

Vacuum

Tina Boyle with Cavan SPCA blames large-scale dog breeding for precipitating the spike in dog thefts. She notes the pre-Covid cost of a Cockapoo varied at between €4-500. But after lockdown lifted, prices of prized pooches soared to three times that. Even a cross-breed Jack Russell is now making €500.

The “vacuum” created is where families looking for a pet are not willing to fork over the huge sums of money, but are also willing to not ask too many questions.

“Some have said they’ve seen suspicious vans in areas and suspect the dogs stolen, others we can’t say, maybe missing,” says Tina. “At the start of the year I’d say there was no one looking for dogs because I had them here and no one was calling. During and after lockdown, whether it was families getting out more or whatever, the whole thing went crazy.”

Tina claims pre-lockdown the local charity “would be lucky” to get one call for adoption per day. Now she’s inundated with requests for puppies and smaller dog types.

“I might get four calls an hour now. Then the breeders really picked up, and now they’ve tripled the prices of their dogs. So it’s created this demand,” says Tina, who praised the decision by online trading site ‘Done Deal’ to temporarily suspended advertising the sale of dogs due to the rise in thefts.

No evidence

Despite concerns, Sergeant Mick Duffy, Crime Prevention Officer Cavan Monaghan Division, states that gardaí have “no hard evidence” to link the appearance of markings or cable ties to prospective dog thefts.

He suggests too that social media is both a “blessing and a curse”, and is being used both to target dogs and recover them. Sgt Duffy warns against “broadcasting” such information on social media.

He adds: “It’s important that, if you feel your dog has been stolen, report it to the guards. There have been a number of thefts but it can be very hard to determine between those and cases where dogs simply go missing.

“Saying that, I’d continue to encourage people to report the movement of suspicious vehicles or any such activity in their area, and do so immediately, and with their best effort, to get the full registration of the vehicle, as well as description of the occupants if possible. There’s no point in doing it 24 hours later, it needs to be done immediately, so gardaí can follow it up while the information is still fresh,” says Sgt Duffy.