Frightened

[Mark Roberts]

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Tina,

you can buy pepper spray on e/bay (about £5 a tube) a short spray of that in the face and I doubt he'd come back for 2nds (better than the noisy alarms)

 

[05whippet]

Tina what a nightmare for you,you know things are bad when you can't even walk your dogs for fear of being approached. :rant:

Can't really add more advice as it has already been covered in previous posts above,except to add just be careful and don't leave your dogs alone in the garden either as I would'nt put it past the same type of person to just lift them from there if he thought he could get away with it :angry:

Take care. :huggles:

 

[mtotos]

i feel sorry for you tina i walk our dogs by myself during the week whn dougie is at work, but i am lucky i can go to the kennels i used to work at and the dogs can have a good run and i feel safe and it only takes me 5 minutes to gt there in the car. its a shame im as far away as you would be more than welcome to come a walk with my dogs and be 100% safe with no weirdos hanging about, please keep you and the dogs safe :huggles:

 

[nina]

Sooo glad you've got things worked out, there's always safety in numbers so its good you have someone to walk with.

I dont think a lot of people realise just how rife dog stealing is.

It's nothing to do with the quality of your dog, whether its a show dog or good racer, pedigree or non pedigree etc cos either way it means money to the people that steal them, either from a reward for a much loved pet, money to be gained from selling it on or sometimes if a running dog to be used for breeding purposes with their own dogs, down to a plain little mongrel used as "bait" for their fighting dogs.

I've had dogs stolen & beleive me it is your worst nightmare, i am sooo paranoid now i trust nobody. I walk my dogs VERY early in the morning or late at night ALWAYS accompanied by someone & yes i carry a "spray" & wouldn't think twice about using it.

I have been followed on foot, followed by vans, ive changed my route a hundred times, once bitten, NEVER again. I was lucky enough to get my 2 back but there are hundreds who haven't. Dogs are stolen all over the country every single day, from cars, gardens, out on walks.

Unfortunately i dont think its publicised enough, the police are absolutely useless & treat the whole thing as a joke, they just don't rate it as a crime at all.

To EVERYONE, just be vigilant, if someone approaches you & starts questioning you whilst out walking about your dogs, make sure they are on a tight leash by your side, never give ANY information, just say they are rescues, been spayed/neutered etc & just pets & move off as quickly as possible.

Never EVER leave a dog alone in your car even for a second while you pop into a shop, even if you think they are safe in a cage or crate, it only takes a second to smash a window & yank a dog out.

Never leave a dog tied up outside a shop, obviously asking for trouble as anyone can walk off with it in a second.

If you go to the same park or field evrey day, always check for a parked car or van with the occupants just sitting inside appearing to have just pulled over.

Sounds totally paranoid?? Probably is, BUT if it keeps your beloved dogs safe, hey what the hell.

Nina

 

[lalena]

awful, what some people will do where did you get your spray from, nina? what with winter, there are a lot less people about in burnham beeches, so i'd like to be prepared. there are way too many a-holes here to risk 2 ped staffies.

ps, have you noticed a rise in travellers your way lately? our town seems to have aquired a fresh influx, and its got me on edge. one guy had this abnormally skinny ig, poor thing was cowering, and it was pouring down beautiful blue bitch, but i couldnt see a matching description on missing pets.

 

[flossy]

crikey, thats harsh. I have had a similar experience myself and it really shakes you up! Not only the feeling that you have been observed without realising it but the worry of the next walk. I actually planned my walks after that, making sure i had no routine of times or place at all, to the point of getting in the car and going away from home to walk. When asked i always say i am from a different town to the one i live in, and make a point of saying the dog pulls up lame with exercise or has asthma, is spade or whatever is appropriate at the time. If walking alone i always carry a brass knobbed stick, for my back you understand, and i signed onto a martial arts course. Its also worth noting where you get a mobile signal and where not, avoiding the latter. Be aware of your walking space and if in doubt dont do it, gut reactions are always the best.

Hope you get some company to help build your confidence again. It takes a while.

 

[~Helen~]

Sooo glad you've got things worked out, there's always safety in numbers so its good you have someone to walk with.
I dont think a lot of people realise just how rife dog stealing is.

It's nothing to do with the quality of your dog, whether its a show dog or good racer, pedigree or non pedigree etc cos either way it means money to the people that steal them, either from a reward for a much loved pet, money to be gained from selling it on or sometimes if a running dog to be used for breeding purposes with their own dogs, down to a plain little mongrel used as "bait" for their fighting dogs.

I've had dogs stolen & beleive me it is your worst nightmare, i am sooo paranoid now i trust nobody. I walk my dogs VERY early in the morning or late at night ALWAYS accompanied by someone & yes i carry a "spray" & wouldn't think twice about using it.

I have been followed on foot, followed by vans, ive changed my route a hundred times, once bitten, NEVER again. I was lucky enough to get my 2 back but there are hundreds who haven't. Dogs are stolen all over the country every single day, from cars, gardens, out on walks.

Unfortunately i dont think its publicised enough, the police are absolutely useless & treat the whole thing as a joke, they just don't rate it as a crime at all.

To EVERYONE, just be vigilant, if someone approaches you & starts questioning you whilst out walking about your dogs, make sure they are on a tight leash by your side, never give ANY information, just say they are rescues, been spayed/neutered etc & just pets & move off as quickly as possible.

Never EVER leave a dog alone in your car even for a second while you pop into a shop, even if you think they are safe in a cage or crate, it only takes a second to smash a window & yank a dog out.

Never leave a dog tied up outside a shop, obviously asking for trouble as anyone can walk off with it in a second.

If you go to the same park or field evrey day, always check for a parked car or van with the occupants just sitting inside appearing to have just pulled over. 

Sounds totally paranoid?? Probably is, BUT if it keeps your beloved dogs safe, hey what the hell.

Nina

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Some brilliant advice there - I'm going to add this thread to FAQ, I think, so people can refer back to it.

There was a dog stolen from our local park a year ago. Two young men approached a woman with her spaniel and appeared very normal, friendly dog-lovers. One of them kept her chatting about dogs in general (the distractor) while the other bent down and pretended to fuss the dog... actually he was unclipping the lead from the collar, and as soon as he'd done that the two of them bolted with the dog, leapt into a car and were away. It all happened in seconds. Don't let anyone bend down and fuss your dog without you keeping a very close eye on what they're doing!

Is pepper spray legal in the UK? There are some very good sprays available from places like the Suzy Lamplugh Trust which spray a UV mist which marks the attacker, combined with an ear-piercing shriek, combined with stinking the place up (onion powder). They're really good because they have a triple effect and can be confusing to the perpetrator of any attack :thumbsup:

 

[beaker]

Tina,
you can buy pepper spray on e/bay (about £5 a tube) a short spray of that in the face and I doubt he'd come back for 2nds (better than the noisy alarms)

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is that the stuff with the dye in it you were talking about getting for Paula for when she walks your lot?

 

[flossy]

thats similar to what happened to me, car pulled up, man leaped out, grabbed dog, i struggled to hold onto my other dog, all very very fast but on this occasion turned out to be ok as it was some poor guy who had had his own dog stolen that month, was a dead looker for mine and he was desperate to get her back. Luckily for me i had a dog! Otherwise there may have been more of an incident. The other time was when i was approached by two blokes wanting to buy my dog, again i luckily was out with friend, who was weeing the pointer around the corner. When he appeared hastly retreat was made by blokes. Both incidents happened within a 5 min walk from home. Here in Hampshire we do seem to have a good share of the dog thieving trade unfortunately.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Is pepper spray legal in the UK?

not ilegal to own just use, but can't see any judge convicting a woman for defending herself these days?

is that the stuff with the dye in it you were talking about getting for Paula for when she walks your lot

Yep Paula had a bad experiance while walking our lot round a busy industrial est earlyer this year, we found 1 of the blokes a bit after but by the time i'd turned the van round he'd disapeared

I bought her a pepper spray (Mace) from the US, it has a dye that last on the skin and cant be washed off for 7-10 days so the person concerned wouldnt be hard to find after.

I spreyed a little into our sink to see how strong it was I was coughing, my eyes were running so i couldnt see clearly and I couldnt catch my breath for about 15 minutes plenty of time for her (or anyone else) to get to safety.

it's not ilegal to own it just to use it!,

But like I say in these times what decent judge would convict a woman defending herslf and if he did emagine what the press would make of it .

Pepper Spray

 

[beaker]

[
But like I say in these times what decent judge would convict a woman defending herslf and if he did emagine what the press would make of it .

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need to find a decent judge first, better chance of finding ice cubes in hell

 

[Mark Roberts]

need to find a decent judge first, better chance of finding ice cubes in hell

Would go to court though Becka o

 

[lalena]

[
But like I say in these times what decent judge would convict a woman defending herslf and if he did emagine what the press would make of it .

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need to find a decent judge first, better chance of finding ice cubes in hell

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yup. reminds me of that jim carey fil, 'liar liar', where a friend of his secretary got screwed for 6 grand in damages to a burglar who got injured whilst breaking into her house.

 

[~Helen~]

This is the one I have - it has a UV tracer which is probably as good as the dye. I paid about £9 each (bought one for each of my girls too) but they're reduced on this web-page :thumbsup: You can't go wrong at that price!

personal alarm

 

[nina]

awful, what some people will do where did you get your spray from, nina? what with winter, there are a lot less people about in burnham beeches, so i'd like to be prepared. there are way too many a-holes here to risk 2 ped staffies.

ps, have you noticed a rise in travellers your way lately? our town seems to have aquired a fresh influx, and its got me on edge. one guy had this abnormally skinny ig, poor thing was cowering, and it was pouring down beautiful blue bitch, but i couldnt see a matching description on missing pets.

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Yes, i've noticed them! My "spray" isn't one of the legal ones, but hey, stealing peoples dogs isn't legal so i'm afraid i beleive in an eye for an eye.

Lets just say there is a well known "puppy farmer" who lives in that area who unfortunately got his hands on a couple of IG's & is now making a mint selling them to "all sorts".

It could have been him that you saw, or unfortunately one of the shady characters he deals with.

Rescue has mopped up after no end of his poor dogs & will continue to do so. The authorities have been informed plus the kennel club but even though they are kept in an unheated shed in all weathers, no access to light, heat or human companionship, because they are being fed, there is apparently nothing they can do. Bitches are being bred from EVERY 6 months, but according to the powers that be, hey accidents happen!!!

We are powerless to do anything apart from being there & helping where we can. Thankfully i would say at least half he has bred has ended up going thru rescue at some point or other & we keep tabs on them now, the rest? God only knows.

The recent ads in the "free ads", "epupz" "admarts", look no further.

A sad & frustrating situation, BUT we cant find a way of stopping this person & he continues to make money from the breed.

Nina

 

[LasVegasNo1]

Is pepper spray legal in the UK?

not ilegal to own just use, but can't see any judge convicting a woman for defending herself these days?

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Unfortunately it is illegal to possess, use, sell or buy a pepper or mace spray in Britain, but then again so is murder, rape, theft.......

 

[Paula Roberts]

I dont care whether its legal or not, if it came down to it and i had to use it i wouldnt hesitate. Would probably end up having to pay the poor bloke compensation though. :rant:

 

[lalena]

we have a staffie farmer at the end of our road and he too, isnt averse to, through dubious means, 'aquiring' breeding stock. after all, after a litter or two, any dog not purchased legally gets dumped :rant: his only 'saving grace' is that he doesnt overcroud them (because of dumping). he also likes to borrow bitches that he bred and sold, in order to get a litter out of them whereupon, the owners get a cut without the bother of doing it themselves :rant:

in the 13yrs i've lived in slough, i've known at least a dozen dogs that have been stolen. a friend i used to know bred golden retrievers. she had a whole litter stolen when she took mum in for a checkup. dad was in his enclosure, locked to protect HIM from theft.

pups were in the spare room. she had her suspicions as to who did it, but the police couldnt/wouldnt help. shortly after, she and her husband gave it up and left the area. the pikey across the road smirking at her got too much

 

[jok]

As a female dog owner i obviously share your concerns.

However, as a police officer i'll warn you all about the spray. It doesn't just incapacitate the person you spray but it will contaminate you and you could end up helpless on the floor too. Then if there's more than one of these sneaky thieves about, your dogs gone!

:angry:

Safety in numbers is the best and safest option i would suggest.

Keep safe everyone!!

 

[nina]

I dont care whether its legal or not, if it came down to it and i had to use it i wouldnt hesitate. Would probably end up having to pay the poor bloke compensation though. :rant:

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Totally with you on this one & at the end of the day so you have to pay out a few quid compensation, ok you wouldn't be happy to do it but for our dogs safety i know most of us would happily take this option. I for one, wouldn't hesitate.

The other side of the coin is if the person you sprayed had been trying to grab your dog/dogs etc how much would they want to go to the police & explain why for no apparent reason this woman walking her dogs alone had just decided on a whim to spray them with something illegal?????? :- "

Nina