“My dog is missing,” “My dog has been stolen,” or “I can’t find my dog” have to be among the worst sentences a caring dog owner would ever have to say, but dog theft is one the rise.
There aren’t reliable figures for the number of dogs stolen in North America each year since police may not distinguish between property theft and pet theft, but based on the numbers we do know, dog theft is on the rise. In 2008, 71 dogs were reported stolen in the United States. According to the AKC, that number jumped to 490 dogs in 2016, a staggering 30% increase between 2014 to 2015, alone. Some estimates are that two million pets are stolen every year, and PetLynx, a companion animal registry, estimates that one million animals go missing in Canada each year.
The top AKC-Recognized breeds stolen were:
- Yorkshire Terrier
- Chihuahua
- Bulldog
- Pomeranian
- Shih Tzu
- German Shepherd Dog
This isn’t an “American thing.” The British site, Express, reported that five dogs are reported stolen in Britain every day, but only one is recovered. The real figure may be much higher as a survey of 2,000 adults found three per cent – the equivalent of 1.5 million people in Britain – have had a dog stolen in the past five years. That was a 19% increase in the numbers of stolen dogs officially reported to police when compared to two years earlier. The pet insurance company, Direct Line, reported that 11% of dogs got stolen on walks, while 23% were taken from their own gardens, and 11% were snatched from their home.
The ten most stolen breed of dog (2014-2016) has been the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, 634 stolen, or 42% of all stolen breeds. The rest look like this:
Breed/Number stolen 2014-2016/ Share of all breeds stolen, 2014-16
Chihuahua – 143 – 9 per cent
Jack Russell – 111 – 7 per cent
Crossbreed – 76 – 5 per cent
French Bulldog – 53 – 4 per cent
Lurcher – 42 – 3 per cent
Labrador – 41 – 3 per cent
Pug – 36 – 2 per cent
Bulldog – 35 – 2 per cent
Cocker Spaniel – 35 – 2 per cent
Some dogs are stolen dogs to become breeders, some are snatched to be “flipped” on sites like CraigsList, some are stolen to 
become bait dogs for illegal dog fighting, and some are even taken hostage, a ransom demanded from their owners. Needless to say, vigilance and minimizing opportunity are called for, but pet tracking devices are becoming more common. These devices are linked to an app on a smartphone and allow owners to monitor their dog’s location, but the devices are still a bit bulky and work only when the dog is wearing a collar with the device attached.
Popupcity, launched in 2008 by Golfstromen (an Amsterdam-based urban design and communications agency) reported one solution to deal with dog theft: Hundehiet, which means Dog Den in Norwegian, is a storage locker designed for dogs. For just 10 Kroner (some $ 1.72), owner can keep their dogs safe and dry in the unit while shopping in the belief that it’s safer than leaving them in the car. Needless to day, opponents point out that summer heat, germs, and the invitation to abandon a dog with ease make the Hundehiet not such a great idea. We don’t know if the idea introduced back in 2012 caught on.
PetFBI has suggestions on what to do if your dog is stolen, as does the AKC.