Dogs are vanishing from an area outside Fort St. John. On Saturday February 21, 2015, worried owners went door to door searching for their pets. As they searched they encountered details suggesting their much loved companions were brazenly stolen.
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| Chocco safe at home |
Brad Tanner’s Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Chocco was one of the dogs taken. Brad took immediate action by filing a report with the RCMP and contacting local media. Online he noticed media articles about stolen dogs and one revealed an incident of theft a month earlier in the nearby town of Dawson Creek. In fact, media reports seem to show clusters of dogs have vanished in an organized fashion from locations in BC, Alberta, and Manitoba, during the past 4 years.
Some anecdotal evidence suggests at least one woman and two men may be involved. A woman in a light coloured SUV was seen driving slowly by properties and/or approaching and coaxing dogs toward her vehicle. Often within hours of this episode men in different vehicles were observed trying to entice dogs with treats. Dogs have been taken out of homes, out of cars, off leads and out of electrically fenced areas. In one online report an owner described how he found bits of dog treats on his property and his dog gone despite having an electric fence system the dog would not breach.
Brad says his hopes to see his dog Chocco again wane with every passing day. Brad is adamant he will not give up the search for the sake of all dogs who may suffer the same fate as Chocco. Brad recognizes that if these people aren't stopped, dogs will continue to go missing.
Anna MacNeil-Allcock of PetLynx Corporation is leading a global effort to gather eye witness accounts of detailed information about suspicious activity. "Thieves need to know that Fort. St. John is no longer a harvesting ground for criminal purposes”, she said.
Anna, coordinates the PetLynx HomeSafe™ RTO Service to create safe environments for people and pets across Canada. HomeSafe(tm) allows communities in North America to offer a 24/7 Return to Owner (RTO) service that ensures all dogs are registered with physical descriptions, identification devices and photos just like ChildFind Canada. By getting organized and by collaborating across provinces, it will be possible those responsible for stealing these valuable family members can be exposed.
"The fact that Fort St. John has illuminated this problem for the rest of the world is significant", said Larry Evans, Managing Director, PetLynx Corporation. The lessons learned from this episode can become a municipal model that can be replicated across North America. Anna is one of the most passionate people I know when it comes to missing pets.
Anna has created a Facebook Page Stolen Dogs 911. Pet owners and the general public can be helpful to collect data so the size and significant elements of this problem are understood. Here is what can you do:
- First, if you believe your dog has been stolen, you need to report your missing dog to the local police detachment.
Second, get your dog identified, photographed and registered in the HomeSafe™ Automated RTO database to improve the chances of recovery. This system has two major benefits in the case of stolen dogs. First, in minutes you can quickly create and widely distribute a Lost Report and print a Lost Dog Poster AND it has a search engine that never gives up searching for a match in the found reports and admission records of registered agencies of your community.
- Third, familiarize yourself with the Facebook page and enter any information you may be aware of so the statistics are gathered and a collaboration to reduce or eliminate this problem begins.
A missing dog episode is one of the most emotional experiences facing pet owners today. Fortunately technology can now be employed to eliminate stolen dogs and report these episodes.
