About a week ago, we had to have our little ferret, Tigger, put down due
to advanced lymphoma.  I posted about it and there was an inclusion in
the next post by Sandee ferret.  Today, we discovered that our dog has
apparently been stolen!  Right out of our fenced-in back yard no less!
I am just flabbergasted as to why anyone would do such a thing.  I think
the odds of him straying on his own are slim to none.  First of all,
this is a dog that was afraid of his own shadow.  He has never shown any
inclination to leave the yard.  At one time he had a pal, who had the
wanderlust something fierce, but he would never leave with her.  Even if
we opened the fence gate, we had trouble coaxing him into the front yard.
He just seemed to feel more secure inside the fence.  Some years back, we
had some work done to our house and the gate was inadvertently left open.
Droopy (our dog) had stepped through the opening and was just on the
other side when we got home.  So he did go through the gate, but just
barely, and had definitely not left the yard.  He is a yellow lab mix,
possibly some boxer or pit bull in there but hard to tell.  Even though
he was very timid, he would bark if anyone came into the yard, and act as
if he wanted to eat them.  Now if they took 2 steps toward him, he would
run, but a lot of people were afraid of him.  Apparently, he was a good
actor.  We had him well trained, so that he never barked unless there was
someone in the yard that he didn't know.  He was a very good watchdog for
that reason.  He was not wearing a collar, because we could not keep one
on him.  His head and neck were about the same size, and he would always
figure out how to remove any collars we put on him.
 
Other evidence:
Our laundry room is outside of our house and is located in a tiny little
closet of a room under our carport.  My husband often leaves the door to
the laundry room open.  There is evidence that someone or something was
in there and things got knocked over and moved.  They were moved in a
such a way as to indicate they had been knocked over, not like a person
had intentionally moved them.  I wonder if the dog ran in there to try
to get away from his captors, because it did look as if a struggle or
something had taken place in there.  He's a pretty big dog and would
not go willingly with anyone.  Getting him to the vet took an act of
congress.  My husband would have to pick up the 65 pound dog and carry
him over to the car and physically shove him in with him resisting all
the while.  Now if we have that much trouble getting him into a car, I
can only imagine how much of a struggle he would put up with anyone
else, especially someone he didn't know.
 
This may not be the best place to post this, but I needed to vent and was
hoping someone would have ideas as to why anyone would do such a thing.
If someone wanted a dog, there are easier ways to go about it.  There are
always ads in the local paper for puppies free to good home, or strays
found that are free to a good home.  So this makes me concerned that
whoever took him had some nefarious purpose.  He was not a pure breed or
a dog that someone would steal because of any obvious value.  He was not
the kind of dog that was a nuisance to the neighbors in any way.  He
stayed in his yard and he was quiet.  We have no enemies that we know of
that would do such a thing to upset us.  He was well nourished and well
treated, so there would be no reason for someone to try to "rescue" him
from us.  So why?  Why would someone go into a fenced in yard to steal a
fairly large dog, who doesn't want to go with them?  What possible reason
could a person have to do such a thing?  I have no comprehension of this.
 
We have gone around the street calling him and have driven around looking
for him with no luck.  I have called the local animal shelter.  They
tell me they haven't seen a dog fitting his description come through,
but we do intend to go down there and check just to be sure.  We did not
have a chip injected, since he never showed any inclination to wander.
So we can't try to trace him that way.  I may put up some posters in
the neighborhood, but in my heart I just know that someone took him.
I cannot fathom that he would stray on his own.  It is just not his
disposition to do it.  Does anyone have any wisdom to share with me?
Are there people who go around stealing dogs for nefarious purposes?
My biggest worry is that he was stolen by someone, not because they want
a pet, but because of some ill intent or illegal activity.  Advice?
Suggestions?  Ideas?  Why?
 
Holly
who is having a very bad week
[Posted in FML issue 4556]