KeyStoneK9 Big Dog
Number of posts : 468 Location : Ontario, Canada Registration date : 2007-10-16
| Subject: Stollen Puppy Mon Jun 09, 2008 2:22 pm | |
| Be Aware everyone with puppies. Another dog stolen in the Windsor areaThis is the third case in less than a month. - Quote :
- Pricey pup stolen
Gary Rennie, Windsor Star Published: Sunday, June 08, 2008
BELLE RIVER - An expensive purebred Rhodesian ridgeback puppy worth $2,000 was brazenly stolen from the backyard of a Belle River home about noon Saturday.
Owners Chantelle and Jasen Menard fear the five-week-old female puppy is destined for an illegal puppy mill. "My older two children are devastated," she said.
Still not weaned from the mother, the puppy could easily die, she said. The puppy, not yet named, hasn't had any shots and could also be vulnerable to disease, she added.
All they know about the theft is a neighbour saw an older, green Dodge Caravan minivan pull into their driveway just east of Belle River about noon Saturday. A couple in their mid 50s got out. Soon after, the Menards noticed one of the puppies missing from a backyard pen.
Lakeshore OPP are investigating, and hope to get some tips through Crime Stoppers at 519-258-8477.
Known ridgeback breeders across Canada have been contacted to watch out for the puppy or the thieves.
The Menards said they wouldn't have difficulty identifying the missing puppy through pictures they've taken.
The puppy would be difficult to sell for close to its real value because it would lack documentation of its birth, Chantelle Menard said.
The puppy is one of a litter of nine. The Menards had planned to sell some of the puppies, and were recently getting visitors interested in buying from across Southern Ontario.
The female taken was the pick of the litter, leading the Menards to conclude the theft was by someone familiar with the breed and its value. Often dubbed the South African lion hound for its origins as a hunting dog, the breed has a distinctive ridge of hair along its back running in the opposite direction of the rest of its reddish-brown coat.
Male puppies tend to sell for around $1,000 and females usually go for double that. The Menards have owned adult ridgebacks for seven years, and this is their second litter.
The adult females usually reach about 70 pounds, and the males 80 pounds or more.
The Ridgeback Club of Canada is holding its 5th Annual National Specialty show at Colasanti's Aug. 30 in co-operation with the Essex County Kennel Club. Jasen Menard holds his daughter Abigail as they keep an eye on a litter of Rhodesian ridgeback puppies. The Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the theft of one of the rare puppies. Jason Kryk, The Windsor Star a good pic of a Rhodesian Ridgeback pup (not the one stolen) | |
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