Frightened

[»Tina«]

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Hi All,

sorry haven't been on much lately but with 4 kids to xmas shop for well you know.......

anyway I have a problem I haven't been able to walk my dogs on my own all weekend as I'm to scared to at the moment, on Friday afternoon I took my dogs out as usual to 'the meadows' (2 huge inclosed fields) I'd let them off and Chance (lurcher) and Binx (whippet) went racing off together like always, but they always keep with-in eye shot of me,

on our way back through the field a man walked towards us, he said 'hello, are they your dogs?' I said yes and he then asked about Chance, does she hunt, race etc, I told him she has been lamping with my brother a few times and had, had some success, I was a bit nervous now as the questions were 'has she ever had a litter?, how much did she cost you? where did you get her? and so on,

I told him she was spayed and microchipped, and where i got her, then he pulled a HUGE wad of money out of his pocket and said he'd give me £500 for her!!

I said NO WAY, he then said that he'd seen me a few times before and always loved the way Chance sprinted off as soon as she was off the lead :unsure: , then he offered me £700 for Chance and Binx!!!

I said sorry they are NOT FOR SALE, and never will be! I was shaking from head to foot, just then my brother came (I'd arranged with him to meet up) and the man said 'ok thanks anyway' and went,

it's really scared me and although my hubby can walk with me in the week he takes our sons to football on the weekends, and my brother goes out most weekends, so I haven't been out with them as I'm so scared that this man will snatch one of them :unsure:

would not going for walks for 2 days a week be ok for them? well at least until I feel a bit more confident or someone to walk with me?

 

[jools]

What a terrible situation Tina, I would feel exactly the same. I think your dogs are much safer missing out on a couple of days walks until you are sure this undesirable character is gone.

Do they play ball games or anything similar that you could do in the garden or whatever? I have found that I can give mine the stimulation and tire them out without a walk on the odd time that we don't get out. I know it is no real substitute for a good walk, but it won't do them any harm IMO, I hope you are soon able to get back to normal.

 

[~Helen~]

that's really frightening Tina. I agree with jools. Be careful. Can you go anwywhere else for a while?

 

[»Tina«]

yes jools they do play in the garden, they chase each other like mad things (w00t)

I'm sure I will get over this in time, I have thought about just taking them on a lead walk around the village but then I think what if this man turns up with a car! and with 3 dogs by myself how could I stop him taking one other than scream my head off,

so just garden play for now then it's such a shame though.

 

[»Tina«]

that's really frightening Tina. I agree with jools. Be careful. Can you go anwywhere else for a while?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

not really Helen the whole village is surrounded by fields which all link to the meadows

 

[LasVegasNo1]

That's really terrible Tina, I can imagine how frightened you were I wouldn't worry about the dogs missing two walks a week for a while, at least they'll be safe. Or maybe you could get a friend to walk with you and change the time you go for the walk etc?

 

[Paula Roberts]

I"d give the weekends a miss for a while Tina, better to keep yourself and the dogs safe, lucky your brother came along when he did.

 

[Juley]

How frightening. I'd not go there on my own for a while. Did you by any chance see if he had a car? If so, take the reg number down. Good thing you said she was spayed. Poor you, that must have been horrible. Take care. J

 

[nina]

Tina, you must have been petrified, i know i would have been. Can i ask a question, did the man have any kind of an accent? Just for my curiosity.

Please be careful, change your route for a while if you can.

This happened to a friend of mine whilst walking her Saluki a year or so ago, 2 guys pulled up alongside her in a transit van, asked if the bitch was for sale, offered her a huge wad of money, the price went up to £1000!

My friend was really shaken & took the long route home, checking she wasn't followed.

2 days later whilst she at was home, someone broken into the garden & stole the dog.

The same white transit van was seen speeding out of the bottom of her road.

Not telling you this to try & scare you, but just be really careful, unfortunately when we have a routine for walking our dogs & go to the same places we are not aware that someone may be watching us & taking note of it.

Sure this was just a one off incident, poor you, hope you can get back to your normal walks soon.

Nina

 

[melanie]

poor you tina, im sure you dogs will be fine untill you feel you can go out on your own again, after all its only two days a week. im only down the road from you so i'll be extra careful too.

isnt it sad when you cant even walk your dogs in peace

 

[Lolcoe]

Unfortunately this is common with sighthounds.

If your dogs are anything like mine they will get a lot of exercise tearing around the garden, granted you have no garden left but they enjoy it all the same.

Can you walk to pick the kids up from school or is it too far away? There is always a lot of people around at the end of school and a bit safer.

Always be wary of strange men in Transit Vans :unsure:

 

[*Lesley*]

Sorry to hear you've had such a bad experience Tina, I would be tempted to have a word with the police if this man is wandering round the common watching people, it's not on is it, I would tell them what he did and that he said he has been watching you for a while

Chance,Indi and Binx will be fine missing a couple of days walk it's better than the alternative if this man does have motives :thumbsup:

Hope it sorts itself out don't put yourself in harms way :huggles:

 

[OEH]

What a horrible experience, for you. They won't hurt missing a few walks. Try to think that he was just impressed with your beautiful dogs and wanted one like them, it is perfectly possible that he is just someone with more money than sense who had fallen in love with them, and if you think that you might feel better :huggles: . :luck:

 

[Pennymeadow Whippets]

Sorry to hear this maybe it would be a good icea to carry some kind of panic alarm then if you ever were in the same position you could use its better to be safe :thumbsup:

 

[bappit]

Can appreciate your concern Tina.

Out of interest had you ever noticed him before? Have you asked around to find out if anyone else has been approached by him or knows anything more about this character? Seems so wrong to have your movements curtailed because of this :rant:

Know you will be very proud of your dogs as am sure we all are, but never tell strangers they are any good, in fact tell them they are rubbish. :thumbsup:

 

[lalena]

oh, god how awful for you! seriously give some thought to walking further afield. even if you end up spending an hour in the car, the security and welfare of your dogs AND YOURSELF comes first. as nina said, now you've been 'clocked' you are not safe there any more. if this chap has dubious intentions, you now pose a threat to him as he has laid his cards on the table, and been rebuffed. these people can be very cunning and patient when they want something. as you were approached on a weekday, i'd say he knows when hubby is about. the presence of your brother really threw him. no doubt, had your brother not come along, you probably would have been threatened there and then, after money didnt work.

change your daily pattern if possible, at least the way you go to work etc. if youre watched, varying things will make them uncertain, and lessen the liklihood of your house being broken into.

 

[chillitt]

what they said, and take a camera with you. the wad they wave at you is probably fake and chances are reg on the transit too, but a picture will help the police, but dont let em see you taking a picture!

 

[snapdogs]

someone was only saying to me the other day that there were a lot of dogs being stolen in her area.... in hampshire, one woman was walking her dog and someone tried to snatch it and run off with it.. but she kept calling her dog and eventually it broke free and ran back to her... I never leave my dogs in the car or outside shops, they are far too precious.... what is going on in this country!!! I don't ever remember reading and hearing about these things years ago!!!!

A couple of days without walks would'nt do any dog harm.... what an awfall situation to have been in Tina... hope you are over it now...

Dawn x (Remember little Rue x)

 

[bappit]

As lolcoe said its something to watch out for with sighthounds (other breeds too as far as I'm aware, but have no real experience or knowledge of), however having had experiences of shady characters wanting to buy/expressing an keen interest in my dog/s over a 20 year+ period (and from stories from lurchermen stretching back much further than my experience-though the dogs involved in those cases were usually known to be good workers), its not a new thing at all.

I've often wondered why-certainly they never seem to want a pup (just a ready made dog, good for hunting/racing/breeding), it always strikes me as odd that they dont seem to have a hell of a lot of actual knowlege - for example the one dog who i was constantly being approached about was nothing special in reality (yes of course to me he was very special...but thats not my point), actually a lurcher but looked like a coursing grey, he was kept at the time (most interest was shown) with two vetrans who although would still lope around a field made him look like a wonder dog-literally running rings around them-but anyone who'd been around these types of dog would clearly see the other two were slow and old so thats why he looked so fast ...add to that the types interested in 'buying' see everything as for sale, and the more you state the dog is not for sale the more the percieved value seems to increase (I think the reasoning there is if the dog is really no good you'd be keen to part with it :blink: )...though yes have often suspected the 'wad' of money to be fake as you state chillitt.

So always wise to be wary - we cannot/should not live our lives in fear of what might happen.

 

[»Tina«]

Thanks for all the replies and PM's :huggles:

I didn't notice if he had an accent or a van I was too shook up to, my brother nor I have seen him before either, I now have strict instructions from hubby/family/friends NEVER to walk the dogs on my own again,

hubby also bought me a high pitched buzzer thingy too, I've got my friend to come on walks with me on the weekends when hubby or brother can't make it, she has a king charles who gets on great with my dogs (which is hard with Indi as he hates ALL other dogs, but gets on fine with Odie)

I can't drive and my village is only small and no matter what route you take it all leads to the meadows, lots of winding lanes etc....

but I can't let this man get the better of me or my dogs, me and hubby took the dogs out yesterday and today and never seen him, so hopefully he's gone now, but I will still not go out anymore on my own.

Thanks again everyone for all the advise :huggles: