Reports of Stolen Animals Rise as Economy Falls

The American Kennel Club has tracked three times as many dog thefts during the first six months of 2008 as they had for all of 2007, according to Pet Thefts Rise As Economy Hits Dog-Gone Low: Some Dognappers are Stealing Pets for Quick Profit, by Kim Campbell Thornton, in an article dated July 28, 2008 on MSNBC.com.

Among the stolen breeds tracked by the AKC in 2008, according to Campbell Thornton, are Yorkshire Terriers, Poodles, Pomeranians, a Shih Tzu, Bulldogs, Corgis, a Norwich Terrier and a Mastiff. In other words, the fancier breeds that tend to command a higher price tag.

Not all of stolen canines are victims of organized crime rings. In many cases, the thefts seem to be opportunistic, with numerous reports of suspicious vans stalking neighborhoods just waiting to pounce as soon as an unspecting owner's attention is diverted.

According to Lt. John Kerwick, president of the U.S. Police Canine Association, Region 7, New York, “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.”

In one documented case, armed thieves broke in to a home that had advertised Yorkshire Terrier puppies for sale, and literally seized the dogs at gunpoint.