LOS ANGELES (AP) — More owners are reporting lost or stolen pets, but the online nation is coming to the rescue.
The number of dogs being stolen in the United States has gone up dramatically in the last few years, the American Kennel Club says. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animalssays thefts skyrocket in New York every summer when residents combine walking the dog with running errands.
Police will take a report if there's a witness or if a pet is extremely valuable. But animal-loving social media bloodhounds have jumped to help, alongside any number of dog-finding companies, devices and apps.
Nearly 70 percent more dogs were stolen across the country in 2011 than a year earlier, said AKC spokeswoman Lisa Peterson. "It was the largest jump since we started keeping track in 2007," she said.
The club collects media reports about stolen pets and retrieves data from the AKC Companion Animal Recovery database, a mix of microchip filings and customer calls, she said. In 2011, the AKC recorded 432 stolen dogs, compared with 255 in 2010.
The numbers only skim the surface, she said. Facebook and Twitter are flush with lost or stolen pets.
Better records are impossible because the law defines pets as property, so even if a police report is filed, it won't be flagged just because a dog was taken, explained Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Kevin Maiberger. If an animal is valued at more than $950, the crime will be bumped up to grand theft, but it still won't mention pets except in the list of stolen items, he said.
A lack of records doesn't mean a lack of tears though, said Cora Bennett of Somerset, Ohio.
Marissa Banik, her daughter, didn't stop crying for hours after pugs Chloe and Pugsy were stolen from their yard on Aug. 20.
Bennett and Banik called animal shelters, put up fliers, posted the theft on Facebook and other sites, called police, searched the neighborhood, talked to neighbors, posted a reward and followed several leads, Bennett said. "They are her babies," Bennett said.
The number of dogs being stolen in the United States has gone up dramatically in the last few years, the American Kennel Club says. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animalssays thefts skyrocket in New York every summer when residents combine walking the dog with running errands.
Police will take a report if there's a witness or if a pet is extremely valuable. But animal-loving social media bloodhounds have jumped to help, alongside any number of dog-finding companies, devices and apps.
Nearly 70 percent more dogs were stolen across the country in 2011 than a year earlier, said AKC spokeswoman Lisa Peterson. "It was the largest jump since we started keeping track in 2007," she said.
The club collects media reports about stolen pets and retrieves data from the AKC Companion Animal Recovery database, a mix of microchip filings and customer calls, she said. In 2011, the AKC recorded 432 stolen dogs, compared with 255 in 2010.
The numbers only skim the surface, she said. Facebook and Twitter are flush with lost or stolen pets.
Better records are impossible because the law defines pets as property, so even if a police report is filed, it won't be flagged just because a dog was taken, explained Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Kevin Maiberger. If an animal is valued at more than $950, the crime will be bumped up to grand theft, but it still won't mention pets except in the list of stolen items, he said.
A lack of records doesn't mean a lack of tears though, said Cora Bennett of Somerset, Ohio.
Marissa Banik, her daughter, didn't stop crying for hours after pugs Chloe and Pugsy were stolen from their yard on Aug. 20.
Bennett and Banik called animal shelters, put up fliers, posted the theft on Facebook and other sites, called police, searched the neighborhood, talked to neighbors, posted a reward and followed several leads, Bennett said. "They are her babies," Bennett said.
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