Dog lifters on the rise

• English Cocker Spaniel rescued today near K.D. Circle from being sold off 
• Owners advised to implant microchip to trace lost/ stolen dogs  

Mysuru: What started as a single report of dog thefts in city for Star of Mysore has now become a regular news item with a series of canine thefts being reported almost every day.

Desperate dog owners have been reaching out to this newspaper and are complaining that their pets are being snatched away from them. 

The first report in this regard was published in these columns on Dec. 23 under the title “Dognapping: Illegal canine trading on the Rise in Mysuru” where incidents of over six dogs that were stolen was reported. 

On Dec. 28, another case surfaced where a Mumbai couple’s expensive ‘Shih Tzu’ breed pair was stolen from their house compound. Following intense media glare, the Metagalli Police managed to trace the dogs in a dingy labour settlement nearby. 

English Cocker Spaniel

This morning, Yashaswini, a resident of Vijayanagar Second Stage, called up SOM to report that her pet, a two-year-old English Cocker Spaniel, was stolen yesterday at around 6 am. 

She said that as the dog was continuously barking, her mother took Yuva outside the gate. “My mother was with the dog for some time and she came inside the house to drink water. Yuva was not there in front of the gates when my mother returned,” she said.
“We rushed to the Vijayanagar Police Station and lodged a complaint. The Police have booked an NCR (Non-Cognizable Report) and handed us an acknowledgement,” she said. 

Dog lost and found

The pet owner had posted the dog stolen information on social media and today noon, some of her contacts told her that a “Dog for Sale” notice was put up near Krishnadevaraya Circle (K.D. Circle). “My friends told me that the notice was freshly pasted and three phone numbers were listed below and it was mentioned that apart from the dog price, the dog was in Bengaluru and buyers had to pay transportation and other charges,” Yashaswini said. 

She revealed that her friends called the phone numbers as prospective buyers. “We just took a chance and when we went there we found our dog. There were three persons with our dog. He was up for sale and when we asked why did they steal our dog, they replied that the dog was found abandoned in a park and it followed them. They were clearly lying and were faltering in their answers,” Yashaswini said.  The Vijayanagar Police were immediately called to the spot and three persons have been taken to the Vijayanagar Police Station for interrogation, she claimed.