A SPATE of missing dogs along the Coffs Coast recently has sounded the alarm that dog-nappers may be actively targeting particular breeds in the local area.

In the past week, three pedigreed intact male dogs have disappeared from Bonville, Corindi and Valla, and word has it that several others from Woolgoolga and Glenreagh can be added to the list.

It’s difficult to tell just how prevalent dog theft is in the area and while police are usually notified, there is little they can do unless owners can prove a pet has actually been stolen.

Even then, it is considered a ‘theft of possession’ rather than an abduction, without taking into account the emotional impact on a family of losing a much-loved pet.

Katrina McNeight and her young family were devastated when their two-year-old French Bulldog, Dougie,
disappeared from the large backyard of their Bonville home, even though he was out of sight from the road.

“We were all at home at the time, and Dougie was outside with our two other dogs – a labrador and a lab/staffie cross, both lovely dogs, and we found it odd that they were still there while Dougie was gone.

“We got Dougie as a pup for our older son who wasn’t well, and both our boys just adored him; he’s always gone with us on holidays, camping and out on the boat.

“We door-knocked the area, asking if anyone had seen Dougie, and I rode a horse around paddocks for three hours in case he might have been hurt somehow and couldn’t get home.”

The family’s appeal for information on Facebook was shared more than 300 times with no helpful news forthcoming.

Dougie had been registered and listed with the council, so Katrina visited and had his microchip locked, which meant they would be alerted if anyone tried to have a new microchip inserted in New South Wales.

Unfortunately, there is no nationwide register of pets, either through councils or vets, so there is no way to trace pets taken to another state.

After talking with other victims of dog theft as well as vets and the police, the McNeights now believe that Dougie was taken across the border with the intention of selling him online to unsuspecting buyers or on the black market.

Intact male French Bulldogs, Staffies and Cavoodles fit for breeding are particularly in the sights of these unscrupulous operators, who have no concerns for the distress they cause to the dogs’ families.

Katrina McNeight is calling for a nationwide database of dogs that is perhaps linked through vets.

It sounds like a great idea – but where to start?

In the meantime, the family continues their search while Katrina frets that Dougie has missed his injections and is offering a reward for his safe return.

If you know his whereabouts, be a sport: bring Dougie home.

By Susan KONTIC