# Do dog theft rings operate on a "circuit"...? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 5, 2021, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298 "2021-03-05T23:12:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2021, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/1 "2021-03-05T23:12:57Z")
I’ve noticed that by me every 2 years or so the number of dogs reported missing skyrockets for a few weeks. I’ll see reports on FB of about 20+ dogs all missing in a 2 week period. Afterward, it goes back to one dog missing every other month. I know that dog theft really does happen, either for resale or for them to be used as bait to be ripped apart by fighting dogs. My question is… if there are such things as dog theft rings… and if they stop after about two weeks… does it make sense to assume that they have moved on to another part of the state or even another state? Also, assuming that dog theft teams do exist and do move around, does it make sense to assume that they have some kind of ‘circuit’ that they work where it could take up to two years to again hit the same town again that they’ve hit before…? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2021, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/2 "2021-03-05T23:55:22Z")
Do you have any evidence that dog theft is common? There are a few very expensive breeds like Lady Gaga’s dogs occasionally stolen for ransom, otherwise not that much call for stolen dogs. I could have said ‘hot dogs’ there, but take note that I did not write such a terrible pun. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/3 "2021-03-06T00:54:42Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Do you have any evidence that dog theft is common? Aside from a sudden uptick in missing dog reports on a town FB page? People posting multiple dozen “have you see my dog?” with a picture attached and a phone number inside of a month? My direct observation that the following month there are almost no dogs reported missing? Well, I did find a few cites: > **[Missing dog returned after being found 600 miles away in Tijuana, Mexico](https://www.wlns.com/dont-miss/missing-dog-returned-after-being-found-600-miles-away-in-tijuana-mexico/)** > > SAN LORENZO, Ca. (CBS) – A French Bulldog that went missing from his family’s home in California is returned after being gone for four weeks. Debbie Campbell says, her dog went missing … > **[Dognapper tries to steal guide dog from blind owner walking with white stick](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sick-dognapper-tries-put-lead-23465341.amp)** > > EXCLUSIVE: Maisy McAdam, a 23-year-old university student, was exercising in the park when a man tried to snatch her guide dog Willow, a six-year-old labrador-golden retriever cross > **[Pandemic pet demand blamed for surge in UK dog thefts - France 24](https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210205-pandemic-pet-demand-blamed-for-surge-in-uk-dog-thefts)** > > Pandemic pet demand blamed for surge in UK dog thefts > **[Woman reunited with beloved dachshund Luca swiped from outside Manhattan deli](https://abc7ny.com/dognapping-dog-stolen-pet-dachschund/9230572/)** > > A New York City woman has been reunited with her beloved dog after video was released of the man who swiped the pooch from outside a Manhattan deli. > **[Dog gone! NYC dog owner chases man ‘casually’ walking his missing pooch](https://nypost.com/2020/02/01/dog-gone-nyc-dog-owner-chases-man-casually-walking-his-missing-pooch/)** > > Ruff. That’s how Saturday started off for Charles Fisher and best friend Bear. Fisher, with his 7-year-old Labradoodle in tow, had strolled over to Bagel Bob’s near Union Square so he c… Evidently it might be a thing, but even I was hesitant to assume it was, hence the purpose and statement of the thread. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/4 "2021-03-06T02:17:25Z")
Missing dogs are not stolen dogs, and stolen dogs have to be rare or be held hostage to be profitable, which is why a dog theft ring would exist. I do not think there are rings of dog thieves who just want to own a lot of dogs to take care of. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/5 "2021-03-06T06:16:42Z")
Damn, an international dog theft ring that makes enough to be international? Damn, all that time learning to crack safes and pick lock wasted? All I needed was a box of Milk Bones and a tennis ball? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/6 "2021-03-06T06:53:54Z")
My grandparents were living in an apartment complex when an unknown number of thieves organized and broke into a bunch of apartments including my grandparents and stole the various dogs, about 10 total, during a holiday when they knew people weren’t home in the mid 2000’s. Stole their beagle right from their house. Cops claimed they had information that people were stealing them to sell to unlicensed dog sellers since all the dogs targeted were the smaller cute dogs and they didn’t go after any of the larger dogs.Thieves knew which apartments to target since they cased the “Pet Relief Area” next to the apartment grounds. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/7 "2021-03-06T07:04:57Z")
I find the story kind of implausible. Why would thieves go to all the that kind of trouble to steal the least valuable items in those apartments? What is an unlicensed dog seller anyway? Is that what you call people selling dogs on Craig’s List? ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/8 "2021-03-06T09:54:14Z")
This is the second time you’ve stated this. Won’t you please let other people speak? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/9 "2021-03-06T14:11:29Z")
It seems you’ve never heard of dog fighting rings. People do steal (and pretend to adopt from unwary rescue organizations) dogs to be used as bait dogs. If you don’t know what a bait dog is, you should google it. (warning for those with soft stomachs, don’t do this) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/10 "2021-03-06T14:31:56Z")
How do people steal dogs for that purpose qualify as a dog theft ring traveling from location to location on a 2 year cycle? Dogs go missing all the time. Sometimes they are stolen because someone wants a dog or for the purpose you mention, or even if there are still vivisectionists nefariously stealing dogs for experimentation, but none of that adds up to a ‘dog theft ring’. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/11 "2021-03-06T18:02:21Z")
^ This. Also, because dog fighting is highly illegal, I could see where “the fights” would have to move around a Lot … otherwise the police would stake out known fight locations and arrest people with dogs going in and out. I’ve heard that people gamble heavily on the outcomes, so there is a Lot of money to be made and all in cash. Selling dogs, as long as either 1) you can get the chip out or 2) you are selling them someplace where people pay cash and don’t care about chips, is a thing One of the articles I listed about was about: Someone in Sacramento whose “missing dog” was found by someone who bought it for cash in a city in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/12 "2021-03-06T18:23:53Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Why would thieves go to all the that kind of trouble to steal the least valuable items in those apartments? Those little toy dogs go for a couple thousand dollars easily. In many homes, they are the most valuable items per pound. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/13 "2021-03-06T19:11:33Z")
Wow. I do not doubt that dogs get stolen. They do. I doubt that there are enough dogs valuable enough support an organized ring of dog thieves. No matter how much an owner pays for a dog or how much they love them, without papers those dogs are not worth much. There are stupid people in the world, stupid enough to pay a significant amount of money for a dog without papers from a person who cannot be found again, but not that many people. People who train fighting dogs are not going to pay thousands of dollars for any dog used as bait. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/14 "2021-03-06T19:50:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I doubt that there are enough dogs valuable enough support an organized ring of dog thieves. You can ignore the cites given if you want to keep your doubts. As stated in the first article cited, people will pay $600 for a dog from some street vendor in Mexico. Most dogs do _not_ have papers, and still cost thousands of dollars. None of these dogs have “papers”, they are just assured by the owners of the company that they are bred with love and care. > **[Our Puppies - Your New Puppy](https://yournewpuppyllc.com/our-puppies/)** > > Find your dream puppy at Your New Puppy. We offer our door to your door delivery to anywhere in the continental United States. There are plenty of stores that stock their dogs from puppy mills, taking a few dogs in on the side from more questionable sources isn’t exactly going to be a new moral low for them. They can turn around and sell those dogs for thousands of dollars. There are also breeders who people buy their dogs from, and it would not be difficult to throw in some dogs of unknown provenance in the mix. As to whether or not there _is_ a group or people traveling around, stealing dogs, and taking a couple years to return to the start, that’s hard to say, the only “evidence” for that is the loose pattern matching of the OP. But nothing that you have said here is accurate, at all, about the nature of dog theft, the value of dogs, or the potential for laundering a hot dog. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/15 "2021-03-06T20:08:29Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > or the potential for laundering a hot dog. Take it out of the bun first. It gets very soggy and messy otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/16 "2021-03-06T20:32:08Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > There are plenty of stores that stock their dogs from puppy mills, taking a few dogs in on the side from more questionable sources isn’t exactly going to be a new moral low for them. So now it is only puppies being stolen? And puppies without papers are selling for thousands of dollars? Could you please provide some documentation about that? ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/17 "2021-03-06T20:42:05Z")
. [quote=“TriPolar, post:16, topic:937298”] So now it is only puppies being stolen? [/quote] Never once did he say that Mr. Disingenuous. . [quote=“TriPolar, post:16, topic:937298”] Could you please provide some documentation about that? [/quote] And could you please provide a nice arrest warrant for our lovely upstanding colleague who just asked for a price list for stolen dogs? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/18 "2021-03-06T20:44:47Z")
Why didn’t you start out by looking for some evidence of your contention. [See, you were right, here it is.](https://www.newschannel5.com/news/pet-dogs-disappearing-in-hands-of-organized-theft-ring) Why did I have to look it up for you? All I did was google ‘are there dog theft rings’ to get that article. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/19 "2021-03-06T20:48:44Z")
So, you admit in the open and in public that all you’ve done by posting in this thread is Troll…? Thanks! \< Reported \> ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298/20 "2021-03-06T22:22:24Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > So now it is only puppies being stolen? I don’t know how you come to that conclusion. > [@TriPolar](#): > > And puppies without papers are selling for thousands of dollars? Adult dogs sell quite well too. Some people like puppies, some people don’t want to house train. But yes, as I just showed you, puppies without papers _do_ sell for thousands of dollars. None of those dogs have any papers. You probably can’t get much for a geriatric dog, but a dog between 1 and 3 years is probably going to be pretty valuable. I don’t let my Shichon out of my sight, which is easy, as he doesn’t like to let me out of his sight either. > [@TriPolar](#): > > Why didn’t you start out by looking for some evidence of your contention. The contention was made by the OP, asking a question. I simply added my perspective of someone who knows quite a bit about the dog world. > [@TriPolar](#): > > [See, you were right, here it is.](https://www.newschannel5.com/news/pet-dogs-disappearing-in-hands-of-organized-theft-ring) Why did I have to look it up for you? You could have looked that up before insisting that it couldn’t be possible. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dog-theft-rings-operate-on-a-circuit/937298.md?page=2)