Police warn owners to stay alert for potential dognappers

Police cautioned dog owners to pay extra attention to their four-legged friends. Authorities have received multiple reports recently of stolen dogs, RTL Nieuws reported.

Last month, for example, dog Tycho was found dead in Oss after being kidnapped by three men.

Oftentimes, the cases are not solved. “Despite the fact that police record the theft, there seldom leads to investigate the case,” a spokesperson of the Zeeland-West-Brabant police force told RTL Nieuws.

Police noticed that purebred dogs are stolen the most. “That may be stolen in order to be resold or to breed and resell the puppies. With certain breeds, there can be a lot of money involved,” the spokesperson said.

If the number of dog thefts increased compared to last year is difficult to say because figures on theft are not kept separately, according to police. In the past year, there had been at least 15 reports of dogs being stolen.

The police warned dog owners to keep their eye out for anyone behaving suspiciously around their dog.

“The only thing I can say to dog owners is: stay alert. Get your dog chipped, register him or her and keep an eye on them,” Karen Soeters from the House of Animals said.