Blue Staffordshire Terrier Stolen From Taylors Lakes Backyard

[*kirty*]

http://m.heraldsun.com.au/leader/west/blue-staffordshire-terrier-stolen-from-taylors-lakes-backyard/story-fngnvmj7-1226677076630

A TAYLORS Lakes family is devastated after their female blue staffordshire was snatched from their backyard.The Farrugia family said 18-month-old Jazz was playing in their backyard about 10am on Monday morning (July 8) when a man jumped over their fence and threw the pure bred over on to vacant land, before jumping back over.A neighbour's CCTV cameras captured the incident, and the footage is with Keilor Downs police.Pat Farrugia said his wife and daughter were home at the time."She (Jazz) was running free in the backyard when she was taken," he said."Our neighbours have cameras, and the footage gets a glimpse into our backyard."We're devastated, she's sadly missed, and we'll do anything to get her back."Mr Farrugia said the family feared Jazz had been stolen for breeding.

"We think being stolen for breeding is highly the reason why, we paid just under $2000 for her so her pups would be worth a lot of money," he said.Stafford Rescue Victoria co-ordinator Jan Hutton said the staffordshire was the No.1 dog stolen in Australia."They have been for years," she said."People are under the impression that they are rare, so more blues are being bred."Originally blue was a rare colour, so someone started charging $2000, and people are still paying that for them but they are really worth no more than any other staffordshire."Ms Hutton said the staffordshire was a popular breed."They are the flavour, everyone wants a stafford," she said."They are called the nanny dog, because they are great with children, a fantastic family pet, and very loyal."Jazz, who weighs about 19kg, is microchipped and registered with the Brimbank Council.The incident has been reported to Keilor Downs police, who are investigating.

[*kirty*]

I saw the footage on the news. So sad.

[Yonjuro]

There was something similar in WA a couple of months ago. A blue staffy puppy stolen. The family who were regular battlers (not rich) ended up putting up a $5000 reward which got a lot of media coverage. A few weeks later they remortgaged their house and posted a $10000 reward, after which they got their dog back. It seems like a good business for scumbag dognappers or thieves

[Staff'n'Toller]

It seems like the dog may have been more easily seen over the fence from the field rather than a house wedged between other houses.

They say she was 'well known' in the neighbourhood, I can remember 14 years ago when I first joined the Stafford Club of Vic we were given a strong warning about not having breed paraphernalia on our cars or doormats/doorsteps due to the high rate of theft of the breed.

I'm not saying for a moment that Staffords should be hidden away and unsocalised but you can be cautious about how you do it. I had my Toller for 2 years before my neighbours directly across from us noticed him.

We have to be wary about who we invite to our houses these days, people picking up from ebay or gumtree, delivery drivers etc etc.

It's very sad. Obviously these people don't intend on paying money for a dog but blue Staffords are a dime a dozen on the puppy pages now.

[kelpiecuddles]

All the more reason to get them desexed I think(unless you are a genuine breeder) and get their ear tattooed if possible(especially for females). They aren't worth stealing for breeding then.