Lost dogs are nothing new. Dogs are always going missing, only to be found within a few days. But recently some owners have suspected their that dogs have been stolen.
Lost dogs are nothing new. Dogs are always going missing, only to be found within a few days. But recently some owners have suspected their that dogs have been stolen.
Take Ruffy, a male ‘pavement special’ puppy, belonging to Brendan Stones, a seven-year-old boy.
Brendan recently chose the puppy from the SPCA while he was still being weaned off his mother, and visited the SPCA a few times to play with him before taking him home.
His brother Rory chose Tandy, a female from the same litter.
Ruffy went missing on the weekend of Sunday 13 April, while the Stones family were in Cape Town, where Brendan was being nursed after brain surgery at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
The dogs were left in the care of a house-sitter and the domestic worker while they were away.
The house-sitter, who asked to remain anonymous, says both dogs escaped while she was out for lunch at a friend’s house.
She suspects that the dog was stolen because the domestic worker, Nomazwe Diko, had seen a man trying to coax the dogs out of the yard two days before their disappearance.
She also heard that there is a syndicate which captures dogs for hunting purposes.
Tandy was found a few days later, having slipped into a neighbour’s yard.
Brendan's grandfather, Alan Stones, says there was further suspicious behaviour last Friday, when someone cut a big enough hole for a person to fit through in their fence.
Stones suspects that Ruffy's thieves have returned for Tandy.
The family have distributed posters across town offering a R2 000 reward for anyone who finds and returns the dog.
“We just want the dog back for our grandson who has been in hospital. We won’t ask any questions if the dog is returned.
"We haven’t had the heart to tell Brendan that Ruffy went missing because we are still hoping that he might turn up,” said Stones.
A Facebook group called “Grahamstown missing pets – lost and found” and the Grahamstown Parents Network (GPN) have been flooded with stories of dogs, cats and birds that have been lost all over town.
One story stands out as another case of suspected foul play.
Niki Cunningham says her one-year-old Beagle, Zimbo, has been missing since 1 April.
He escaped from her home and was last seen running towards New Street by a man who works on shoes close to the BP garage.
Cunningham says she was told that her dog had followed a man from the BP garage.
She said this man is apparently wanted by the police.
The dog was reported by someone who wishes to remain anonymous to have been sold for R300.
Police have denied that any case has been opened against the man.
A reward is being offered to anyone who returns Zimbo to his owner.
Elvina Louw, also active on the Facebook site, says her Jack Russel, Lucy, went missing a month ago and was seen near Kingsview Estate two weeks later.
Louw says that she has heard that these dogs are stolen for the purposes of "warming up" pitbulls as part of a dog- fighting syndicate across the South African border.
The SPCA says that a large number of dogs have gone missing since the beginning of the year but that it is difficult to determine if this is as a result of theft or if the missing dogs had been found after being reported to the SPCA.
Animal Welfare Inspector Jenny Copley-Forster says is not aware of the problem.
She doubts that people who need dogs for hunting purposes would bother going to the lengths of stealing these breeds of dogs from people’s homes.
“There are so many dogs available in the township for these people to use. Why would they bother going any further than that?” said Copley-Forster.
If you have seen any of these dogs please contact their owners using the contact numbers to follow:
•Lost puppy (Ruffy) – call Lisa Stones on 083 663 7180
•Lost Beagle puppy (Zimbo) – call Niki Cunningham on 082 722 9151
•Lost Jack Russell (Lucy) – call Elvina Louw on 060 528 1229
