Dog Theft Action (DTA) is a lobby group that was set up in January 2005 to raise public and political awareness of issues surrounding lost and stolen dogs. The DTA website can be found at www.dogtheftaction.co.uk

The objectives of DTA are:

• To change current police procedure of reporting stolen dogs as stolen property.
• To encourage effective co-operation between the various agencies involved in the reunification of missing/stolen dogs so that information can be made available nationwide.
• To ensure the identification of all stray dogs and the effective posting of these details for the benefit of all agencies onto a national database for missing and found dogs.

DTA co-ordinator, Margaret Nawrockyi, said to D for Dog, “We hope that all the agencies involved in the stray/stolen dog arena will unite to close some of the loopholes which prevent missing dogs from being reunited with their rightful owners. We hope that those organisations and individuals who have extensive knowledge and experience will join our campaign to make the UK a safer place for dogs and their owners.”

DTA campaigner, Candy King, whose own dog Dolly Mixture went missing in February 2005, says “Many of this country’s police forces do not take dog theft seriously. It is an aspect of law and order that must be addressed.”

Candy adds, “There is so much more that can be done to help reunite dogs with their owners.” One of the DTA’s aims is to make it compulsory for vets to scan all dogs that come into their surgery. “Think of all the stolen dogs whose 'owners' are unaware that they are in possession of a stolen dog and how many of them would be reunited if the vets scanned automatically”.

As part of her own personal search for her missing dog Dolly, Candy urges anyone who might have any information, or might have seen Dolly, to contact her. “She has very distinctive facial markings” says Candy, who also stresses that “although Dolly went missing in Wiltshire, it doesn’t mean she is still in that area.”

For more information about Dolly Mixture or how to contact Candy, visit our Lost Dogs South West page.

A Cautionary Note

Dog warden Neil Burton of The National Dog Warden Association, (NDWA) www.ndwa.co.uk is keen to stress that care must be taken with regards the image of dog wardens. He says that dog wardens have to work hard to “change the negative stereotype image of being ‘dog catchers’”. He suggests that more caution should be exercised by the media when it comes to going for attention-grabbing headlines. Neil says that recent campaigns caused “untold trouble with finders of dogs refusing to hand them over because the ‘radio said that Dog Wardens kill dogs’”.

Neil also defends the reputation of dog wardens against any suggestion that they do not keep proper records of impounded animals. Neil states that Local Authorities do keep a Register of Lost dogs.

“The NDWA supports all systems of identification currently available in the United Kingdom if it means that any or each of those systems enables lost and found dogs to be reunited with their owners. The wider picture of where those lost dogs that are never traced are could lie with the fact that some are indeed stolen but a whole lot more are just kept illegally by finders and the authorities are never notified.”

Although such concerns have been raised, Neil agrees that “the process of disseminating information in regard to lost and found dogs is an extremely vital one and a major contributory factor in reuniting lost dogs. DTA are to be applauded for joining the myriad of other agencies and organisations already in existence that exchange information regarding lost and found dogs.”

Dog Theft Action - First Symposium

DTA is to hold its first public symposium on Saturday 1st October 2005.

Click here to view the calendar details for this event

Click here to view the DTA's symposium flyer.

With hopes to change perceptions and procedures related to dog theft, the DTA lobby group is urging organisations and individuals with views on lost and stolen dogs, microchipping and the reunification of lost dogs with their owners, to attend the symposium.

The DTA symposium will help create an agenda for a DTA Summit to find an effective solution to the escalating crime of dog theft, scheduled for November, where a list of organisations will be represented, including:

• The Kennel Club (KC) and PetLog
• Dogs Trust
• The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)
• The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS)
• The British Veterinary Association (BVA)
• The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA)

Commenting on the meeting, Phil Buckley of the Kennel Club says:

"The Kennel Club has been building a good relationship with DTA since they attended Crufts in March 2005. We fully support their objectives and see the issue of dog theft as both very serious and a matter that needs to be addressed.

DTA have been extremely proactive in their campaign to date and they are continuing to obtain backing from the canine fraternity and the world of dogs in general. We look forward to working with the DTA Team on various initiatives in the future, the ultimate goal being to bridge the current loopholes to ensure that stolen dogs are speedily reunited with their owners, causing the least amount of upset to all concerned.”