Stolen puppy traced six months on through DNA sample

ONE of a litter of five pedigree puppies stolen in December has been found alive and well after being sold on the black market for €200, and it is hoped his recovery may lead to the other four being traced.

The owner of an American Staffordshire terrier, which had given birth three weeks earlier, called the Guardia Civil on December 30 reporting a break-in at his farmhouse in Banyeres de Mariola (L'Alcoià). Intruders had climbed a twometre fence and stolen all five puppies, which would have a market value of between €400 and €600 each, but were too young to be weaned, meaning their survival was threatened by being separated from their mum.

As the American Staffordshire terrier is classified as a 'potentially dangerous breed', the mother is on a municipal register which includes a sample of her DNA, but police had no leads whatsoever.

Suspecting the puppies may have been sold on the black market, possibly for Christmas, the Guardia Civil in nearby Ibi contacted Alicante veterinary college and gave photographs and details, so that if any puppies of a similar description were taken to a clinic in the province, staff would know to check them out.

An Alcoy vet reported a customer bringing a female puppy to the surgery in late January which resembled one of the stolen litter, although the original owner, when shown pictures, could not be sure she was one of his animals as she would have grown and changed considerably. Police took saliva samples from the puppy, the mother and the father of the missing litter, and sent them to their forensic department in Madrid. Results did not come through until June, but confirmed a DNA match.

The person who had brought the puppy to the vet gave details of the original seller, who turned out to be a 27-year-old Spaniard living in Cocentaina.

Despite being charged with theft, fraud, and breaking and entering, the accused was conditionally released pending trial.

As yet, the other four pups have not been traced.

Now that one of them has been found with a new owner – who paid €200 for her – those

Four others from the same litter have not been found, and may have been sold on the black market

involved have been placed in a potentially heartbreaking situation. Legally, she belongs to the man she was stolen from, even though the person who took her to the vet bought her in good faith.

If the original owner agrees she can stay in her new home, he is within his rights to ask the second owner to pay him the market value for her. Police have not revealed which of the two has kept the dog.