We hear from a Grantham dog owner after a rise in the number of thefts
Reports of stolen dogs are on the increase across the country
Last updated 7th Mar 2024
A warning's gone out to dog owners across Lincolnshire and Newark after national figures suggested there's been a rise in the number of thefts.
61 dogs were reported stolen across the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire region last year .
Only 24 were returned.
Bulldogs and XL bullys were the most frequently stolen breeds last year - with the amount of dogs being found and returned successfully at it's lowest level since data began.
People wanting to buy a dog are being advised to only use reputable sources.
You treat them like your family members so to have one of them missing is just devastating
We spoke to Erika Knight from Grantham who had a wire haired pointer called Panzer.
Late last year he went missing from the backgarden and he was reported as stolen.
She told us: "I myself have owned dogs for the last 23 years - we've had a number of dogs and continue to have a number of dogs."
"You treat them like your family members so to have one of them missing is just devastating".
"We have 5 children who are extremely devoted to him and have such fond memories of him and having had him from a pup some of the children can't imagine going to the beach because they haven't got Panzer to go with them."
There's this constant hope there that you are going to get him home
"It's this traumatic loss that you're not taking one of your best friends with you."
"He was always getting comments wherever you went, people were inquiring as to what breed he was because he's not a familiar dog breed."
"It never occurred to me with him that it would be a possibility."
"There's this constant hope there that you are going to get him home - for you and for the children you have to keep that hope."