A flurry of dognapping in recent months has led to an increasing number of homeowners buying collars with a steel key and rails that cannot be cut by pliers while walking with their pets.
Dog theft has increased as the animals available for purchase have become more scarce since the pandemic began. The average cost of a puppy has doubled to almost £ 1,900 last year, and some breeds are worth more than £ 6,000.
Last week, Lady Gaga’s dog walker was shot in the chest in Los Angeles and stole the singer’s two French bulldogs. Meanwhile, the charity DogLost says the number of dogs stolen in the UK has more than doubled in the past year.
British pet owners are now taking elaborate measures to prevent the loss of their dogs, including placing taller garden fences, buying GPS trackers and using devices like Petloc, a guide with two combination locks (connecting it to the collar on a ends and a bracelet or the other) and consists of a steel cable inside a resistant plastic cover.
Yarah David, who founded the company behind Petloc, reports a fourfold increase in sales of lead from £ 50 so far this year.
“I can’t believe how many calls we’ve received in the past three or four weeks,” she said. “It sucks. I designed the guide to prevent dogs from being taken out of cars or outside stores. Now they are being stolen from people who are walking. I’m being asked, ‘what do I do if they snatch the tab out of my hand?’ “
His clients are trying to prevent this from happening by attaching the guide to their own bodies, using a bicycle belt or seat belt to secure one of the combination locks, David said. Lead can only be cut with pliers, she added.
David is now working with a tracking company to create a version of Petloc with a GPS tracker on his collar.
“It’s all word of mouth,” she said. “I don’t advertise – we are not even on social media. I am an interior designer and I only drew because there was nothing else available. “
Dognapping, she says, “is ruining people’s lives because they are concerned with simply going for a walk with the dogs. For people who have already happened, these are years of trauma. “
Owners increasingly offer “rewards” for the return of their pets. Lady Gaga offered $ 500,000 for Koji and Gustav, taken by thieves after a fight with their walker, Ryan Fischer. The dogs were returned on Friday night when a woman entered with them at a Los Angeles police station. The police said the woman “did not appear to be involved”.
Some pet owners believe that offering great rewards can encourage pet dog thefts.
Activists, including the Stolen and Missing Animals Alliance, called for pet theft to be a specific offense, with punishment more severe than for theft of property. The UK government has said it is considering changing the law.
There are also calls to reform the current pet microchip system to improve the chances of reuniting stolen animals with their owners. While all dogs must be implanted with a microchip, there are at least 14 different microchip registration systems, according to British Veterinary Association senior vice president Daniella Dos Santos.
“It is possible to register in two separate databases,” she said. “We want to have a single point of entry.” Pet owners often don’t update their data if they move, she added.
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recently held a consultation on changing the rules around the microchip.