Lost, stolen, strayed sign
Just read that a couple in California paid US $10,000 for the return of their Yorkie-Chihuahua mix which was stolen from their parked car while they popped inside a restaurant for a quick meal.
They believe that they paid the actual thief of their dog to return it, with no questions asked. The “thief” sent them a picture through a cell phone of it all dressed up in a jean jacket after they put hundreds of fliers on parked cars in the area where the dog was taken and Channel 5 aired their story.
The couple did not involve the police in trying to trace the thief; they met him and handed over the money and he in exchange, gave them back their dog. They did at first involve the police who came to the scene of the crime, and saw their vehicle with the shattered glass but the police could not even take finger prints because they were so short staffed. So the couple decided to work on their own.
That is one very expensive 3-lb. dog 🙂
In Barbados, we also get missing dogs. Sometimes they escape from their owners’ property and go for an adventure in the gap or nearby area and after a good run, return through their escape route or wait outside their gate for someone to let them in.
For dogs, it is tremendous fun for an owner to have to chase them. I remember some years ago, one of my Bouviers got under the fence and went into a nearby bushy empty lot and with her was one of her puppies. One of my other Bouviers led me to the lot, and then the 2 who got out looked out from the bushes and ran back in. When the puppy was inclined to come, his mother barked and he ran back in the bush. I pretended to ignore them and then they came out. But I was lucky because they did not go far and one of the other Bouviers had alerted me by going to the fence and barking so I saw how they got out.
Barbados has seen quite a few dogs which have strayed, become lost or were stolen as their owners never were able to recover them.
It is a good idea to have a photograph of your dog you can use in case your dog becomes missing.
I realise that all dogs do not wear collars or choke chains all the time and a possible reason for this is that the dog can get caught by the choke chain or collar in gardens. In Barbados we do not usually tatoo or microchip our dogs, so in the event that they become missing, we need to be able to describe them, identify them and move fast to find them.
My tips for finding missing dogs would be to talk to your neighbours, the postman, and other service people in your area. See whether you can place fliers at nearby schools, gas stations, shops, supermarkets, at vets’ offices. Talk to the institutions here who rescue dogs in case it is picked up there. Utilise media like radio, press and blogs. But you should move fast as you don’t know what fate could become a missing dog.
I agree in offering some kind of reward. However, if you think about it, you would not want to encourage a dog napping business to develop. And it would be an individual decision but I believe most people would notify and wish to involve the police if they believed their puppies/dogs were stolen.
