Back home, dog that had its ID chip gouged out and its fur shaved by thieves
WHEN their beloved dog Isla was stolen, Tina and Graham Denning feared they’d never see her again.
So they were overjoyed when police found the cocker spaniel at a travellers’ camp – even though her fur had been shaved and her microchip gouged out.
Mr and Mrs Denning believe thieves had cut out the ID chip and changed her appearance so they could sell her.
In fact, she looked so different they only recognised Isla from her ‘funny walk’ and the distinctive white patches under her chin. Mrs Denning, 55, said: ‘It was awful – we couldn’t believe it.
‘At least we got her back. But if they have started taking out microchips, some people may never get their dogs.’
The couple, who spoke out yesterday to warn other pet lovers, discovered Isla had been stolen from her kennel in the garden on January 19.
The couple, from Staplehurst, Kent, called police, put up posters and a Facebook appeal, and contacted DogLost, a national organisation that registers missing pets on its website. Mrs Denning, a carer, said: ‘It was an awful time.’
But last Thursday, three weeks after she vanished, Kent Police called the couple after officers executed a search warrant at a travellers’ site eight miles away.
Mrs Denning recalled: ‘The police said, “Does she have little white marks under her chin?”, so our hopes were sky high.’
The couple went to see the dog, who immediately recognised them.
But to their horror, her microchip had been removed and the wound had been glued together, leaving a scar.
Mr Denning, 57, an engineer, said: ‘She started wagging her tail and rushed up. I knew it was her straight away, even though she’d been shaved pretty badly. I looked her in the eye and knew it was her. She must have been through hell.’
All pet dogs must be microchipped with the owners’ details. Those who fail to comply can be fined £500. But if a microchip is removed, it makes it almost impossible for the owner to be found.
The chips are 1mm by 5mm, not much bigger than a grain of rice, and are usually inserted with a syringe. Thieves are said to have cut microchips from horses with potato peelers and razor blades.
Nik Oakley, from DogLost, said: ‘We have seen this before – thankfully, it is quite rare. We think they might have scanners to find the chips, then whip them out.’
Vet Catherine Henstridge said she had heard of such thefts but didn’t believe thieves could be so cruel, adding: ‘I thought it was an urban myth. The chips are tiny – almost impossible to find just by feeling. Then you have the problem of removing it. You’d have to keep the dog still. It would be extraordinarily cruel.’
Kent police said Isla was seized during the execution of an ‘unrelated theft warrant’, although no arrests had been made.
DogLost said there had been 25 per cent more thefts since 2014.
‘She must have been through hell’