Stolen Dogs

Stolen Dogs


How to Keep Your Dogs From Being Stolen (Hopefully) is my topic for this issue.

Dog thieves were a problem when I got into dogs in 1968 but the problem seems much worse today. Some people have lost their entire dog yard to thieves. I believe in most cases, the dog thieves are dog men and they know the people they steal dogs from. I have lost dogs to thieves myself. It hurts to lose a good dog and it also hurts to know there is a good chance your dog will be poorly treated after he is stolen.

There are things you can do to prevent your dogs from being stolen. If possible keep the location of your dogs as secret as possible. No other dog man can steal your dogs if they don't know where they are. Fence your property and keep the gate locked. If you can't afford to fence your entire property at least completely fence the area your dogs are in. A solid wood fence is the best. Make the wood fence 6 feet high or even higher if it is legal in your city. A thief can't see through a wood fence to locate the dogs he wants to steal. A wood fence is very hard to climb and nearly impossible to climb while holding a dog. It would not be likely that a thief would cut a hole in a wood fence. It would be too hard and take too long.

A heavy chain link fence would be the second choice. Again make the fence as high as the law allows. Put barb wire on the top of this fence if this is legal where you live. Post your fence with lots of warn­ing signs. The signs with pictures of guns and mean looking dogs. Use signs that say stuff like Keep Out, No Trespassing, Guard Dog On Duty, Owner Armed And Dangerous, etc. These signs may actually make a thief change his mind about trying to steal your dogs. Keep your dog yard well lit at night so you can clearly see any­one in the yard. If possible, someone should be at home to protect your dogs at all times. If you must leave your dogs alone then leave some lights on and turn the TV or radio up so it looks and sounds like someone is home. Park extra cars, trucks or motorcycles at your home, even if they don't run. This makes it look like people are home.

Guard dogs can be a big help in pre­venting anyone from stealing your dogs. I would recommend a female Doberman or German Shepard. They will guard your dog yard and they will not fight with your bulldogs. Two or three guard dogs are even more effective than one. A male guard dog may pick fights with the other dogs, so females are the way to go.

Remember if you own a famous dog, this dog is a target for dog thieves. If you must leave your famous dog alone you may want to leave him with a trusted friend or lock him inside your house. It is your decision whether or not to keep a gun to protect your property; It is an easy deci­sion for me and I own rifles, shotguns and handguns and I am skilled in their use. I would recommend a 20 gauge shotgun. A 12 gauge shotgun is more than some peo­ple can handle comfortably. A shotgun is easy to use and easy to see. It is also feared the most by thieves. Just the sight of some­one defending their home with a shotgun will almost always send the thieves run­ning, never to return. It usually will not be necessary to fire a shot. I don't know any more about the law than anyone else so please check out all the legalities for this dog stealing subject with a lawyer or the police department where you live. The laws can vary a lot from state to state. As far as I know you cannot legally shoot an unarmed man for trespassing on your prop­erty, unless they become a threat to kill or injure you or someone else who lives there. If the thief has a weapon in his hand, I believe you can legally shoot him in self defense. Again check this out with the local police or lawyers. These laws are all in the books, so learn them. One other rea­son I recommend a shotgun, is they have a limited range that the pellets will travel, unlike a rifle or pistol bullet that can travel for miles and still be deadly if it hits an un­intentional target.

You must be very careful who you trust in this dog game. My TATER dog and 11 other dogs were taken from me and held in the Irwindale, California dog pound. After a six month legal battle, my lawyer told me that my dogs would be returned to me in a few days. I was very happy about this news and made the mistake of telling ONE other dog man about my good news. I thought this dogman was my friend. He did have a reputation as the worst dog thief in California, but I was loyal to him and did not listen to other dog men that warned me not to trust him. When I went to pick up my dogs, TATER was gone and a large boxer was in his place. TATER had been in that pound six months. I had told only ONE dogman (dog thief) that I would be getting my dogs back and TATER comes up missing. He was the only person that knew I would be getting my dogs back. I know he paid one of the pound employees to give him my TATER dog, but of course I could not prove it.

Many years later I found out that the (thief) guy had sent TATER to a famous dog man in the Midwest. This famous dog man knew TATER was stolen from me. He changed TATER's name to BULLDOZER and never let anyone take a photo of him. He fought TATER when he was 7 years old with almost no teeth left. TATER won that fight and died within an hour after the fight was over. The funny thing is this famous dog man that ended up with TATER was well known for his honesty and he was a hero and a legend in the dog game. He was a hero to me as well until I learned the truth about where TATER ended up. I will not say the name of this famous dog man because he is dead now and cannot defend his reputation. I will not say the name of the man who stole TATER from me because I cannot prove he stole TATER, but I know what I know.

When I first got the famous TOMB­STONE dog in my yard I was renting a place north of Phoenix, Arizona. I did not like it there. A dogman who lived in Phoenix was almost begging me to rent a place from him at a very reasonable price. I rented this place from him for over a year until I got into an argument with him and moved out. I found out later that the only reason he rented me the property was to steal TOMBSTONE. He was not able to because we never left TOMBSTONE unguarded. Either Emily or I was at home with TOMBSTONE 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If we had not watched our dogs so carefully TOMBSTONE would have been stolen.

There are two other ways you can lose dogs to thieves. One way is to loan a dog to someone you think is your friend. This so called friend decides he is not going to return your dog to you. Usually this hap­pens when the so called friend lives far way from you in another state, making it very difficult for you to get your dog back. There are two ways to prevent this type of theft: the first is obvious, don't loan anyone a dog. The other way is to make them leave a dog of theirs with you that is worth a lot to them. They get their dog back when you get your dog back. The last type of dog theft happens more often than you might believe. A man sends his bitch on the plane to another dogman who is supposed to breed this bitch to a particular male and then return the bitch to him for a stud fee, The trouble is the man never sees his bitch again. She got lost at the airport, she was killed in a kennel fight, etc. etc. I have heard this story over and over again. In some cases the man who fails to return the bitch is a well known dogman. The answer is to travel with your bitch to the stud dog you want to breed her to. That way you know she was bred to the right dog and you know she will be coming home with you.

One last thing I almost forgot. A shot­gun can be set up with a very bright light underneath the barrel. This light can be turned on with a squeeze of your hand. It lets you see the sights and anyone looking into this light will be unable to see. I have my shotgun set up this way. As in all things, each situation is different and you have to work out the solution to your situ­ation that will be the most practical and workable for you. It is in that spirit that these suggestions are offered, and in the hope that you never experience the heart­break of a stolen friend.


~ Pat Patrick

YIS

 

Outta sight outta mind...

 

I use 40 inch earth anchors buried 1.5-2 feet deep. My chain comes from the ground and goes to a quick link that is tac welded after the swivel is put on it. I then weld up a carabiner from the other end of a swivel attaching a 2 1/2 ring I put the dogs collar through. After I put the collar on the dog I pad lock the collar to the buckle. In the event I need to take my dog off, I unlock the collar and hook up to their secondary collar I use to keep them from slipping the main collar. If they want the dog bad enough, they can cut the collar off, or cut the ring with bolt cutters. This only deters theft a little. I just recently started this after I had a pup stolen in broad daylight while I was at home! What keeps a dog in the yard is a very un-socialized one you are trying to cut the collar off of that bites the shit out of you! If a couple people ask for it I will be more than glad to post pictures of the yard setup tomorrow!

 

This is some of the best advice I've heard, some of it told to me recently by fellow forum members. It just makes me grin to be posting with the Man who once owned Tombstone! Thanks for the write up.

 

Nute,
Post those pics of your yard set up id like
To see it that sucks you had a pup stolen

Nmdogs

 

It got dark on me by the time I read this Nmdogs, but will surely post them tomorrow for you.

 

Here is my setup. I use a 40 inch earth anchor from tractor supply, and screw it into a hole I dig 1.5 foot deep by 1 foot wide. I put my chain through it, and fasten it back to itself with a quick link I tac weld shut. I then run 15 foot of chain to a quick link I add a swivel to then tac weld it shut. I add a steel carabiner to the swivel, and attach the carabiner to a 2.5 inch steel welded ring then tac weld the carabiner shut. I put the dogs 2 inch main collar through the steel welded ring then pad lock the collar material to the buckle. I then put a 1 inch secondary collar in front of the 2 inch main collar to keep the dog from backing out of the main collar. That is my setup, I use a little more chain then some people, and use earth anchors because axles wont stay in the ground here in the swamp. If this setup keeps one person from losing their dog then this write up was worth it. Sorry Dr. Lector, I'm not trying to jack your thread, just adding to it.

 

The best way to keep someone from taking your dog or dogs, is not let anyone know where u keep them or what u really have. Beware of so called friends. Someone that knows.

 

I have never met Pat Patrick, but based on his writing, and on videos of him showing people the dogs on his yard, my impression is that he is an articulate and reasonable guy.

 

This is to make sure. There are people out there that have a way with any dog. This just makes me sleep better at night.