Teens linked to dog thefts
Two teenagers have been arrested and are expected to appear in the Pinetown Magistrate's Court today, in connection with the New Germany dog thefts.
EMOTIONS ran high as nine dogs, who were suspected of being stolen, were confiscated from two homes in Clermont and KwaDabeka on Monday, 9 June.
According to Lt Bongumusa Manqele, communications officer at Pinetown SAPS, police arrested two teenagers, aged 15 and 16 years old, on Monday morning in Lyndhurst Park, New Germany.
“It is believed that the teenagers stole a dog from a resident’s home in Jung Crescent in Padfield Park in Pinetown at approximately 9:30am.
“The owner was not home at that time, and when he arrived home, at 11am, his neighbour told him that two boys were seen dragging a dog.
“He then searched for his dog, and when he realised that his dog was missing he informed the police,” said Manqele.
When police arrived at the scene they were informed of the direction in which the two teens had gone. Soon afterwards they were located and arrested.
The dog’s owner managed to positively identify his dog and it was later returned to him. After questioning the teenagers agreed to accompany police officials to the houses where they allegedly sold the stolen dogs.
Inspectors of the Kloof and Highway SPCA, as well as other SPCA employees, accompanied Pinetown SAPS officials to confiscate the dogs.
Officials managed to safely recover nine of the alleged stolen dogs at the two scenes. Unfortunately, one of the dogs, a German Shepherd, was found dead at one of the homes.
When officials inquired about his death they were told that he had been hit by a car on the Friday.
During the recovery officials also discovered an 11th dog. The dog was signed over to the SPCA and later humanely euthanized, as it was in a deplorable condition.
It was assumed that the dog was not one of the stolen dogs.
Barbara Laubscher, the fundraising manager at the Kloof and Highway SPCA, reported that a case of animal cruelty will be opened against the owner of the 11th dog.
“All the stolen dogs were found to be living in unacceptable conditions at the various houses. Six of the dogs were found on short chains, one of the dogs had broken off its chain and was running around free and one dog was found caged in a small area,” said Laubscher.
She added that dogs of various sizes and breeds were recovered and that it did not seem as if the alleged thieves were targeting any specific size or breed of dog.
By Wednesday Pinetown police and SPCA inspectors managed to reunited six of the dogs with their owners, but three dogs remain unidentified and are still in the care of the SPCA.
“It was a happy and a sad moment. It was very emotional to witness the re-uniting of the four dogs and their owners, some of whom had given up all hope of ever finding their pets.
“The owner of the dog that had died was also asked to identify his pet. It was an incredibly sad moment,” said Laubscher.
“We urge owners of missing dogs to come through and check if these dogs could belong to them,” said Laubscher.
Devon Phillips, a New Germany resident collected his roommate, Ryno du Plessis’s, dog, Ziggy, on Monday night.
“He is in good condition, besides for a few scrapes on his ear that he sustained while trying to escape from his chains. He is running around, playing and eating. His owner, Ryno, is away on training and will officially be re-united with Ziggy today,” said Phillips.
Ziggy disappeared on Monday, 26 May, while the roommates were at work. Phillips reported that when he came home he noticed that the automatic gate had stopped working.
When he investigated he discovered that the leads to the battery had been disconnected.
Dog fighting fears
Inspectors reported that dogs are often stolen with the intention of selling the dogs, but they are also stolen for dog fighting.
“Dog fighting is a big problem all over the country. It is very secretive and difficult to infiltrate. We urge residents with information to either contact the SPCA or the SAPS,” said Laubscher.
Derek Phoenix, of Pet Rescue Pinetown, also reported that dog thieves often approach houses to gauge how the pets will respond, and then target the houses with friendly approachable pets.
“The thieves target both, big and small breeds. The smaller breeds are used as bait to make their fighting dogs more aggressive, while the bigger breeds are stolen as fighters.
“It is quite cruel, as they tape-up the mouths of the smaller dogs, so that they can’t fight back and injure their fighting dogs,” said Phoenix.
Dog owners are urged to keep their dogs in their back yards, where would-be-thieves do not have direct access to them, to ensure that the animals are kept in their yard at all times, as roaming dogs are easy targets.
Owners are also encouraged to sterilise their animals, to micro-chip them and to keep recent photos of them. Also, if they suspect that their dog has been stolen they need to report it to the SAPS immediately.
The two teens are expected to appear at the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court today. They were released into the custody of their parents on Tuesday.
SAPS is reportedly following up on additional leads.
This incident follows several reports of dogs being stolen in the Highway area earlier in the year.
Mustang, an American Pitbull, and Baron, a German Shepherd, were allegedly stolen from their homes in New Germany in February and March, respectively. Baron and Mustang were both rescued from Clermont and KwaDabeka. Mustang was also reportedly bought from a teenage boy.
