It’s seriously mindblowing to think that someone could so cruel as to steal someone’s dog.
It’s basically like kidnapping a member of someone’s family.
But there are people out there who commit these crimes. Thankfully the theft of Ryder a Siberian Husky from Buffalo, New York was caught on surveillance video.
Ryder, who is 1 and a half-years-old, was dognapped just after 4 p.m.when a man walked into the family’s backyard, grabbed the dog’s leash and walked away.
The Turnage family says their dog managed to get free from their backyard just before he was stolen.
The dog was then followed back by the man. The video then shows the man forcibly taking the dog.
“I just want the dog to come home for Christmas,” Dionne Turnage told ABC WKBW Buffalo.
She and her children had been searching for the dog for days.
Ryder’s family posted the video on social media where it ended up going viral.
https://www.facebook.com/dionne.turnage/posts/2385497371464684
That’s when several media outlets picked it up.
After that, it wasn’t long before the dog was returned.
Ryder was turned over to the Buffalo Animal Shelter. The shelter scanned the dog and found that it had a microchip. They were able to locate Ryder’s family because of the microchip.
Ryder is now home safe with his family and Turnage’ s Christmas wish came true.
“I think it’s a miracle because if we didn’t find him, I’d be super sad,” one of Turnage’s children told Eyewitness News.
She credits the news station with her dog’s safe return. It is unknown whether the person who stole the dog has been identified or will face charges.
According to PAWS.org, the most common reason people steal pets is to sell them.
“The most common victims of pet theft are purebred dogs. Their pedigree has a street value that can fetch thousands of dollars with little effort from or expense to the dognapper,” the website says.
“Stolen purebred dogs, especially toys, puppies, and designer breeds such as Labradoodles, are sold for half the asking price of a dog from a legitimate breeder. Pets may be sold and shipped to puppy mills to be used for breeding (this is why it is essential to have your pet spayed or neutered).”
Some people will even steal pets and wait for a reward to be posted and then pose as Good Samaritans to collect the reward.
Others will steal dogs and use them as bait dogs to train fight dogs. There are people who will even sell dogs to be used in scientific experiments or research.
To keep your pet safe its best to keep them indoors.
Don’t let your pets roam unsupervised in the area. It’s also important to make sure your dogs have collars, up-to-date ID tags, and even a microchip.
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