THE WILES OF THE DOG-THIEF.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3136, 25 September 1922, Page 2

THE WILES OF THE DOG-THIEF.

(By Joseph Menney.)

Jt is :i 11 astonishing fact that twenty thousand dogs disappear every year. ■Some meet a swift and tragic death under the wheels of an omnibus or a motor-car in streets some distance from their homes, and their mutilated bodies are [licked up "with other rubbish'' and buried. The old and polite custom of returning a dead dog's collar has long died out. Other clogs find their way. after wanderings through unfamiliar streets and roads, to Battersea, which is the Mecca of the canine race. But the rest? The professional dog thief is a wily man, and countless dogs vanish from fashionable houses in London every night. The dog-thief, a petty criminal whom the London police must detest. is versed in all manner of dog-craft. Once he has sighted the dog he wants. it is but a matter-of a day or two before little Fido —to use an unaristo•■■ratie name—finds himself in strange bands, aiid sadly misses the cushions and the comfort of his ''house in town." The trade in stolen dogs is at its height at the present time. More dogs have passed into the hands of London's dog thieves during the hisl \\>w mouths than at any of the "seasons" before the war. Most of the dog stealing is done at nigjit when the little "darling" goes for a stroll with its mistress or a maid. The streets are quiet and there is lit*k* traffic about. The dog is taken off the lead, and away be trot- after man or other who happens to be passing. Why does be follow the strange man "who happened" to lie there!-' One of the commonest devices is for the thief lo have a packet of "peppered" liver in bis pocket. The fragrant odor attract" the dog. Round a. corner they go, and once out of view of the unsuspocting owner, Fido (or whatever h;s name may be) is picked up. and i--many streets away in the next few minutes! Another trick o-f the dog snatcher is to have a little aniseed in the upturned 1 end of his trouser leg. The professional dog-thief is usually able to tell at a glance what a dog is worth. In fact, the prince of dog thieves. "The Chinaman." could estimate the value of a dog to within a few whirlings. On one occasion lie snatched an Aberdeen terrier in "Rotten How, and walked' into the arms of an observant policeman in plain clothes. "It's ;i great temptation to see £SO runniiuc about the streets, isn't ii V" said "The Chinaman" on the way to the station. At the police courl the following morning "The Chinaman" was charged with stealing a dog valued at C">0! 1 once asked one of London's leading dog fanciers why so many dogs were stolen. "People don't look after '«m : that's the reason!" he s*aid.