Sunday 29 March 2015

Gate Marking by Dog Kidnappers and Burglars!

Not being a dog or pet owner in general, I had never heard of this but apparently, it is on the increase. This article here shows the kinds of potential burglary/dog taking marks you might find either on your gate, fence, door, wall or pavement

Other markings might be those written about here

Why are they marking, sometimes it is to mark you for being burgled, or to steal your dogs for breeding but more sickening, is to steal your dogs for dog fighting.

If you are a pet owner, and in particular a dog or cat owner, do you have CCTV, especially if you leave your pets outside all day. If not, have you thought about getting it?

It really worries me that people seem to put so much about who they are, where they live, what they own, where they work, what their names are etc, so freely on social media. It has become the norm to share such things but never under-estimate the power of social media, both good and bad.

On social media sites, it is quite common to use your name, what job you do, where you do it, how long your days are, even the village, town or city where you live. It doesn't take much to then trace where you live. If you live at a, work at b, link to your partner's site and they also say they live at the same a, but work at either b, or c, and your site has your real names, it is child's play to work out when you are not at home!

Sharing adorable pictures of your puppy or kitten, your dog or your cat, especially if they are competing or winning prizes. Lovely for your friends and family but also easy targetting information for unscrupulous people. Please stop and think.

It is quite a frightening thought that these people often identify their targets from a distance, even following you home after walking your dog, before leaving their mark which can be as simple as the letter K in chalk. Some audacious nappers even take the dogs when they are running freely out on their walks.

Have I got you thinking, good. Do something about it and ensure you are not the one targeted next time.



16 comments:

  1. A very good post, I try and keep my identity private.

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    1. It is the reason I don't have Facebook as you have to use your name. People just don't seem to think. On the odd occasion I have won something I give a different address to where I live.

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  2. I'm not on FB at all - I've heard of people having their homes ransacked whilst they're on their holidays due to all the info they've put on there and do think it can be a worrying place to disclose info about yourself - I've heard about dogs being taken whilst they're out for a walk but not about properties being marked for dog snatching - thanks xxx

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    1. Neither had I, quite worrying isn't it?

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  3. Well thought of post, this seems to be increasing a lot. People are getting attacked so their dog can be stolen. Scarey world sometimes! More reason to get a mongrel from the dogs home.

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    1. Not sure a mongrel would be any better off unfortunately.

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  4. Excellent post DC and a reminder to us all to be more vigilant. For me the terrible twosome are far more than pets and woe betide anyone caught trying to take or harm them.
    John

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    1. I couldn't even contemplate how awful it would be to have your pet family stolen.

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  5. I don't use FB, I don't see the need to. My friends all know my e-mail, address and phone number, as they're 'real friends' as opposed to FB 'friends'. I don't understand the fascination of having hundreds of 'friends' whom one has never, and probably will never meet!
    When we're away on holiday, family members stay at our property, and we also have CCTV and a silent alarm direct to the police. Even so, there's no point in advertising our location to all and sundry!
    If anyone attempted to take our dogs I think they'd be very sorry, ruddy great wolfhounds who don't take kindly to strangers! If we're relaxed with people, so are the dogs, but I wouldn't advise anyone to tackle them without us present!
    A neighbour in the village needed some spare front door keys, and had to send away for them. Fortunately she mentioned this to me before ordering them, so I advised her to have them delivered to a different address. The thought of having keys to one's house delivered to the very front door they're made to open seems ridiculous to me, but I'm willing to bet that many people do just that!


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    1. We know our neighbours very well and we all lookout for each other proving we know! I couldn't imagine having your front door keys delivered to the house. Hope your wedding went well?

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  6. The wedding was fantastic!
    I had a nosey at the photos of 'your' wedding, it looked as though you all had a wonderful time, and the bride and groom looked wonderful, as did their dogs!
    I'm not able to post any photographs of DS and DDiL as his occupation is of a sensitive nature, therefore it's best not to advertise his identity!
    However, the wedding went off without a hitch, the weather was lovely, they got brilliant sunshine all day and everyone had a wonderful time!
    If both of our sons marrying on the same day wasn't coincidence enough, their honeymoons were similar too...DS and DDiL also went to a cottage with a hot tub! Their cottage overlooked moorland, so they spent quite a lot of time sitting in the hot tub, quaffing Champagne and admiring the landscape! They were only able to have ten days away due to work commitments, but they're going touring Italy for three weeks this autumn!
    As wonderful as the wedding was, I'm glad it's all over, it's so nice to get back to normal!

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    1. Same here, I'm just beginning to sleep better. We thought hard about even putting those few photos on the blog.

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  7. we have a great security system, we live in an "active adult community," which means nearly everyone is retired............we're not, but our kids have left home. Our neighbours know more about what is going on around our house than we do!

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    1. Sounds good, takes care of the worry!

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  8. There's someone here all the time but it is a horrible thought. My friends wife caught two guys breaking into her shed the other day, 5 police turned up pretty quick though.
    I've also heard of marks on the pavement if you're a "sucker" and will fall for scams and the like.

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  9. Dog theft is increasing rapidly. FB has its plus points. You really need to watch what you fill in on your personal details page. You can even trace mobile phone numbers on there. Scary!!

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