Small breed dogs stolen
Franklin County, IL (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Dec 31, 2005
County: Franklin
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Franklin County Animal Control is warning residents to keep their pets on a close leash after a recent spur in reports of abductions in the county.
"We were off on Monday and when we came back on Tuesday it seemed like every call we got was someone who had lost their dog," explained Animal Control Officer Jarrett Broy. "We've had calls for weeks before this. Most of these are pure bread dogs that are missing."
Broy said there have been many reports of small, pure bred dogs that have been taken but also a few reports of larger canines, as well.
"They are just not showing back up," he added. "I've talked to people who are crazy with it because they just can't find their dogs."
The animal control officer said a string of dog thefts occurred several years ago and the perpetrator was arrested but Broy noted he has suspicions that the dogs being taken more recently are not staying in the county.
"I know they do have some in the southern counties that are missing, too," he said. "I wouldn't believe that they are selling them for research or anything like that because they are pure breds. I'm not sure what they would be doing with them. I don't think they are staying in the county."
Broy added that even taking extra precautions doesn't seem to thwart off the thieves.
"Some of them are inside fences and they are taken and some are on some kind of lead," he said. "Some people said they live in town and they put their dog out on a leash to do their business and in ten minutes they come back and the dog is gone and I think they get in a big hope that we have the dog."
Broy said he is now trying to warn residents of the dangers of dog theft and asking everyone to keep a close eye on pets.
"Here is what I have been telling people," he said. "If they let them out they need to at least be on a lead or chain of some sort and keep a close eye of them."
The same story is being told all over the county, according to Broy, who noted most pet owners claim their dog had never ran away before.
"We've had people say it's a white van and we've actually had other people call and they swear up and down it was us and it's not," Broy said. " It's also claimed to be an older pick up truck and it's supposed to be blue. I've said there is no one that works here that has a blue pick up truck. It's not us."
Broy said some residents have claimed that a man in the blue pick up told them about their dogs being taken by animal control but after calling to check Broy must reluctantly notify owners it was not authorities that took their pet.
"Something isn't right somewhere with this," he said. "I tell them (owners) you need to turn that in as a theft but most hang onto the hope that they are going to get their dog back."
Broy said that is not always the case and he is hopeful that pet owners will pay extra attention to the whereabouts of their animals and keep a close eye out for any suspicious behavior in their neighborhood.
According to National Pet Recovery, a private pet recovery company, about 41 percent of the cases reported to them involved a stolen dog. About 47 percent of lost dogs were those allowed to run loose.
Whatever the numbers, dogs are stolen for several reasons:
* Money. This may take the form of an outright ransom, but the usual method is to wait for a reward to be posted, then call the dog's owners and say they found him wandering around.
* Dog fighting. This may seem unusual because most stolen dogs have sweet temperaments - otherwise a thief may be deterred. Unfortunately, dogs are either "conditioned" to fight by cruel training methods, or used as "bait" to train other dogs to fight.
* Cult rituals. Often done for kicks, black dogs (and cats) are at particular risk around Halloween.
Some animal rights and welfare people also say that stolen dogs often wind up at laboratories across the country. Under a procurement practice called "random source collection," the U.S. Department of Agriculture licenses individuals to sell animals to laboratories.
Sometimes theft is no more complicated than an angry neighbor who takes your dog to the pound when you're not around.
If you have any information on the missing dogs or want to report suspicious behavior contact local law enforcement.
The West Frankfort Police Department can be reached at 937-3502; Franklin County Sheriff's Department at 438-8211, and Franklin County Animal Shelter at 439-9197. If you have information on this case, please contact:
West Frankfort Police Department
937-3502
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