Dog walkers beware! There seem to be lots of thieves about – Hayley Matthews

I've seen so many posts recently about people having scary experiences with people trying to steal their dogs.

These two dogs, called Saorsa and Indy, were taken from outside the Tesco store in Nicolson Street in Newington on December 23.

I've heard people say they've had their dogs stolen from their garden, been confronted in the street and most recently saw a post on Porty People warning dog owners to take care after someone's partner had been followed by a man taking photos of her dog.

The poster explained how she turned into one of the lanes to try to avoid the man but was faced with a white van and a man standing outside it.

Because she would have had to squeeze past the van to get past, she decided to head in the other direction. Dog theft seems to be massively on the rise from what I've been reading and hearing from many people.

It all seems a bit odd to me if there are lots of random people taking pictures of dogs being walked. Something isn't right if a stranger is photographing you with your dog. What feels even more suspicious is it's happening A LOT!

I don't mean to scare anyone with this article, I'm just trying to make everyone aware that we need to be vigilant with our dogs just now to keep them and ourselves safe.

Sadly too many people are turning to stealing and selling animals and underground dog fights still happen with some small dogs finding themselves stolen for bait.

So please, whenever you're out with your dogs, please keep your wits about you, and stay to the main paths if you feel someone could be following you and your dog. And always, always report it to the police.

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