Warning over bogus dog wardens in vans trying to steal pets
SOME ARE ALSO CLAIMING TO BE THE OWNERS OF LOST PETS
A SOUTH Derbyshire kennels has issued a warning about bogus dog wardens driving vans around the district.
The warning, from bosses at Crowfoot Kennels Dog Rescue in Church Broughton, comes after reports of criminals posing as RSPCA inspectors touring the area in a white van attempting to steal pets.
In one case a collie owner was stopped by two men in a white van posing as RSPCA officials. They wanted him to put his dog in their van so they could check it but when he challenged them they fled, he said.
Similar stories heard elsewhere claim thieves are posing as RSPCA inspectors who say they need to scan the dog for its microchip, only to then drive away with it trapped in a van.
The kennels also said there had been instances where photos of lost dogs have been posted on social media in a bid locate the owner, only for a thief to come forward to falsely claim the pet as their own. Staff from Crowfoot issued a warning on its Facebook page saying: “Due to the massive increase of the amount of dog thefts, Crowfoot Kennels dog warden services which cover Derby City Council, South Derbyshire District Council, Derbyshire Dales District Council, Lichfield District Council and Amber Valley District Council would like to make people aware that we have had information that vans are going around saying that they are dog wardens and asking to scan your dog and putting the dog in the van and driving away.
“This is something that no dog warden would do as our duties are to collect found dogs and return them to their owners. All our staff carry relevant photo ID for the councils they work for. Please be aware of this. If you find a stray dog please contact us straight away before putting pictures on social media as this has also led to people trying to claim the dog as theirs.” There has been huge demand for pets, including dogs, during the Covid pandemic.
All our staff carry relevant photo ID. If you find a stray dog, contact us straight away.
Crowfoot Kennels
A BURTON travel agent has experienced a “surge of calls” since Boris Johnson announced his Covid timetable for foreign travel.
Market Place Travel boss Mark Lomas says the number of calls, emails and messages has been “beyond belief ” since Monday, when the PM laid out his “road map” to exit lockdown.
With foreign travel permitted from May 17 at the earliest, most are booking breaks in Spain or Greece, including their islands, with a lot of requests for Portugal and Turkey as well.
And staycations, which are allowed from April 12, are also proving popular, with lavish cabins with hot tubs on the coasts of Cornwall, Devon and Yorkshire, booking up fast.
Former Thomas Cook manager for Burton, Mark, who runs the firm with pal and former colleague Karen Brown, says customers are “seeing light at the end of the tunnel”.
He said: “We were already busy even before Monday’s announcement, but the influx of calls and emails since then has been massive.
“There are still a lot of people who are dubious about this year and changing to 2022, but we have got many who are looking forward to a beach that much they’re booking for this summer. People are feeling like there’s light at the end of the tunnel and are just desperate to get away.
“Worst-case scenario, they’ll get a refund anyway, so they’re just saying ‘why not?.’
“It’s just myself and Karen at the minute, with our other two employees furloughed, and we’ve got still about 50 answer machine messages to get through from people wanting to book. The surge of calls is beyond belief.
“We’ve been booking all sorts – couples’ holidays, family holidays and people who have had weddings and honeymoons booked.
“Many people have disposable cash because they’ve not been on holiday this year, so are booking ‘staycations’ on the coasts of Cornwall, Devon and Yorkshire.”
Mark and Karen opened Market Place Travel two years ago and almost immediately had to deal with the collapse of Thomas Cook, which left dozens of customers in disarray.
Soon afterwards, the Covid crisis struck, but that did not stop the pair moving from Market Place to a bigger unit in High Street in October.
However, days later, they had to
We’ve got many who are looking forward to a beach that much they are booking for this summer.
Mark Lomas
close the shop when tighter coronavirus regulations came in.
During lockdown, they have continued to trade online and have done a significant amount of business through their Facebook page, which has 20,000 followers.
They plan to reopen their shop on April 12, as soon as non-essential retailers are allowed to resume face-toface trading.
And they are hoping business will boom, with the collapse of Thomas Cook and, more recently, the closure of Burton’s branch of Hays Travel, leaving them with just TUI and Co-op as direct competition in Burton. Plans are in the pipeline to expand into the top floor of their new premises and create new jobs.
The Government still plans to review its lockdown roadmap dates, so they may be subject to change.