Last week, I awoke to a chilling alert on nextdoor.com.
It wasn’t enough that Rhonda (not her real name), recently became jobless and was living out of her car. On a bright, fall morning, Rhonda lost her service dog — the only family she had left.
Chance, a three-year-old border collie, had been waiting patiently on the sidewalk while Rhonda fished his breakfast from the hatchback. Her back was turned for 10 seconds. When she spun to face him, he was gone.
Rhonda called to him. No answer. She scanned the sidewalks. He was not to be seen. My heart leapt into my mouth as she wrote of desperate lunges between buildings and peeking around fences in hopes of catching a blur of him.
Her sleepless search slogged into the next day. At noon, she spotted a collie with Chance’s markings. His braided, blue leash was tethered to a disheveled man. Rhonda called Chance’s name. He strained to reach her, tugging the reluctant man along. To her jubilant expression of thanks, the man spouted insistent denials that Chance was a found dog. This was his dog, by coincidence, named Chance.
Rhonda pleaded as the man stomped off, jerking Chance’s leash. She watched, helpless, as the man dragged Chance away from her, his paws scraping against the sidewalk. Chance looked over his shoulder at Rhonda and whined. Sobbing, Rhonda fell to her knees and pressed her cheek into the cold cement.
Her online post garnered hundreds of responses; mostly sympathetic, peppered with more-or-less helpful suggestions. Some chided her for being careless in the first place. Rhonda believed that she had erred badly, but she didn’t need to be kicked in the face.
Each year, an estimated two million pets are stolen. The reasons are as varied as are the twisted souls of the crooks. “Flipping” purebreds, coping a reward, selling non-neutered dogs to a puppy mill, disgruntled neighbors seeking revenge, coveting “bait” dogs for the fighting ring. Fortunately, federal law prohibits the sale of “randomly-collected” animals to labs, effectively nixing “Class B” dealers.
I scoured the web to offer Rhonda a lifeline of hope. Resources such as HomeAgain and PetFBI offered sound advice for anyone in this heart-wrenching situation. We added some suggestions. Actions to consider:
Call the Authorities. Promptly file a report with your local police or sheriffs’ office. By law, pets are considered valuable property. So, in theory, authorities should act on your complaint. In this misguided era of police defunding, however, your broken family may be a low priority. Ask to have your dog’s unique microchip number and description posted in the “stolen article” category on the National Crime Information Center.
Get the word out. Blast social media. Post on community sites like nextdoor.com. Alert local veterinary clinics; provide a detailed description including microchip info. There’s a slim chance the nervous thief could walk-in seeking services. An on-the-ball staffer could reunite your family and help apprehend the fiend. Plaster the streets with carefully-worded fliers (see below). Smaller media outlets may be sympathetic and helpful. On PetFBI, you can paste a free digital flier on a national database. For a modest fee, HomeAgain offers a range of pet protection and recovery services.
What to say — and not say. Create a flier with a detailed photo. Offer a non-specific reward. Use words like “family” and “heartbroken.” Don’t use the word “stolen” or the phrase “no questions asked.” Fear of being suspected will deter thieves from claiming a reward.
Scour the hood and local newspapers. Re-trace the area where your pet was last seen. Ask residents if they’ve seen or heard anything (distribute fliers liberally). Good Samaritans will post “found” ads in the local paper. Thieves hoping to turn a profit on a purebred may post in the newspaper or on a seller’s hub like Craigslist.
Eureka! You see your pet. If possible, avoid solo confrontations with the person who has your pet. Remain calm. Remember, it’s possible that your dog may have been sold to a third party. Do a quick scan of your pet to be sure. Once you’ve made a positive ID, approach the person, smile and offer profuse thanks for finding your lost pet. Show your picture/flier to bolster your case. Pull out your wallet or pocketbook to present a quick reward. While you’re engaged with the person, have an accomplice discreetly take pictures of your pet together with the person and notify authorities. If the person refuses and police haven’t arrived, forward pictorial evidence to law enforcement. Use extreme caution in trailing that person back to their residence.
Beware of Scammers. Don’t negotiate with anyone who won’t meet you in public or who says they’ll “send” your pet to you in exchange for payment.
Some might say that Rhonda’s offering a reward to Chance’s thief simply validates the thief’s bad behavior.
Rhonda isn’t responsible for righting the thief’s moral compass.
She just wants her family back.