DOTING dog owners have been warned about cruel thieves targeting their beloved pooches, with some breeds more at risk than others.
Colin Butcher, who has been tracking down stolen and missing pets for 20 years, said
He told The Sun that pet theft tends to happen in five-year cycles, due to how often heartless breeders have to replenish their stock of dogs to prevent inbreeding.
Colin, who is an ex-cop, warned there is a in the UK that work with illegal breeders to steal pets and cover their tracks so buyers don't suspect a thing.
He said that a shocking 60 per cent of the dogs for sale come from
“The demand is higher than what registered breeders can deal with, and people are impatient.
“If you're told there's a three month wait-list and then go online and see you can get a dog next weekend, and you go to a really nice house to pick it up… why would you suspect anything?
They look online to see the tips for buying a dog that people see and work to match that.”
He said: “A lot of illegal dog breeders work closely with organised criminal gangs in the UK. They are very well established gangs that work across Britain.
“Sometimes they will rent an AirBnB for a few weeks and sell the dogs out of there. You can get really nice houses and they set up there with the dogs.
“They sell about a dozen puppies at a time that can reach around
– that would be far more obvious. And when the dog owner rings up the AirBnB and tells them they bought a dog from there – they won't tell you who rented the house.”
Guildford-based Colin said there is a current surge in cockapoos being stolen, but it.
“If there's a dog that a lot of celebrities have or is in TV shows or in adverts – that is what they breed,” he explained.
Another dog breed which is of thieves is dachshunds.
Colin said: “It is a lot easier to breed smaller dogs because you can fit more of them in a smaller space like rabbit hutches. They are kept in really tiny, contained spaces.”
He said that in previous years, a lot of breeders focused on XL Bully breeding but this has “plummeted” after the recent legislation banning the dangerous dog breed.
Instead, people turn to other big dogs like rottweilers. “ if they want it.”
When it comes to tracking down stolen pets, Colin doesn't work alone.
He works alongside his loyal companion Molly, who is a rescue dog.
And while he often finds a pet within a day or two if he is called straight away, Colin admitted that “organised, specialised dog thieves” are far harder to deal with.
He said: “They are much harder to catch. They will have done their research – scoped out a boarding kennel, for example, to find out what breeds are there.
“Sometimes it's an inside job – I had one case where a Chihuahua at a bordering kennel was taken but every other dog was there. It turned out to be a kennel maid who leaked the information to her boyfriend.
“People who work with dogs like walkers, in kennels or dog wardens often form a bond to the animal and steal it.”
Colin sometimes travels further afield to catch the culprits, with one case beginning in Turkey and ending in America.
Once a client flew him out to the Caribbean to find a stolen Yorkshire Terrier who went missing from a villa.
He said: “When you see the relief and joy on an owner's face when they're reunited with their dog it's amazing. It's what keeps me going.”
Colin went on to say abut some locals are often scared of repercussions.
Stacey Holland's dog was stolen in Birmingham after she bolted from her home, and she found that despite the huge community support, many people were worried about this.
She said: “Volunteers came forward to help me leaflet areas and knock doors for CCTV footage.
“It became evident that not many people were willing to give up information about the thief due to being scared of repercussions.”
Eventually, after her story was shared on social media and in the news, Boston Terrier Skye became “too hot to handle”.
“It took nearly three weeks but the dog warden called me and said Skye was found in Handsworth and was let go.”
Skye had lost a bit of weight, but thankfully she was unharmed and her owner was “absolutely licked to death” when they were finally reunited.
Of all the animals targeted in pet theft, – and hardly any are found.
In 2024, around 1,800 dogs were stolen and only one in six were found and returned to their owners.
are Cumbria, Lancashire and London.
