FROM OUR ARCHIVES TwopedigreePoms stolen

September 2008

TWO dog owners are appealing for information following the theft of their beloved pets.

Having combed every inch of Co Wicklow and

Wexford including checking pet sanctuaries and shelters, consulting a fortune teller and notifying the Gardaí, the Arklow animal lovers feel that victims of pet theft, such as themselves, are left with very little chance of getting the animal back.

The most recent theft took place on the Coolgreany Road in Arklow on August 11. Heartbroken owner Deirdre Power said that she arrived home to find her garden gate open and her pure-bred pomeranian of 18 months, named ‘Peanut’, gone. The thief had left behind another mixed breed dog, prompting her to suspect that Peanut was stolen to be sold.

‘I called all the shelters in the region, even as far as Gorey. People who steal pets such as this have no idea the heartbreak they inflict on the owner. Peanut was a real pet and very, very gentle,’ she said.

When fellow Arklow resident and dog breeder who owns Peanut’s parents Jasmine and Fletcher, Elizabeth Dayman, heard Deirdre’s bad luck, she decided it was time to put out a formal appeal. Having had her own pomeranian Fletcher stolen in March of this year, she found it very upsetting to learn that his pup had also been claimed by thieves.

‘Fletcher was taken in March and there was nothing we did not do to try and find him. We hired a pet detective in Dublin who brought a sniffer dog to Arklow. He determined that Fletcher was picked up near home on Brigg’s Lane. I went to a clairvoyant who told me he was in a partially red-brick house surrounded by trees and near water. I am heartbroken that he was taken as he was a dear gift from my grandmother over 10 years ago. He was such a special little dog.’