PUP THIEVES TURN NASTY

Owners battered on walkies

DOGNAPPERS have been assaulting owners, stripping out pets’ microchips and raiding kennels.

As black market prices for puppies soar, thieves have grown more and more violent.

Dr Daniel Allen, an academic who monitors dog thefts and lobbies for legal reform alongside DogLost, said: “There’s an organised crime element.

“There are families being pulled apart and it seems to be getting increasingly violent. Those involved are doing whatever they can to get these dogs.”

Dog walkers have been attacked in two separate incidents already this month.

A former police officer was assaulted in a park in south London and robbed of his Sprocker Spaniel.

Mike Jasper, 66, was walking on Cannon Hill Common when two masked men attacked him.

And student Ally Knight, 22, of Plymouth, suffered two black eyes as she fought off two men trying to steal her Pug. She has since warned owners not to go out after dark. Kennels have been targeted in rural areas, while in towns and cities dogs have been snatched in public and from homes.

The number of stolen dogs flagged up on one database almost trebled last year compared to 2019. Cocker Spaniels, English Springer Spaniels and Jack Russell Terriers are the most sought-after breeds.