A Roxburgh woman is warning families to be vigilant with their pets after someone tried to take the family’s pup from its kennel at their home.
Rebecca Favell said the attempt was made on Wednesday night. The 14-week-old German Shepherd pup had been in a locked kennel but was discovered running around their property in the morning. The only way the pup could have escaped was if someone had let it out, Miss Favell said.
"I have double-checked and there is no way, unless he grew fingers and thumbs and reached through the netting, that he could have got out himself."
Miss Favell said she assumed the would-be thief was then unable to actually take the dog, as it always ran around the back yard when let out.
The kennel was in an area behind their house that could not be seen from the street, so Miss Favell suspects the person knew where to go, said.
"He [the dog] was in our property, in a kennel that was not visible from the road, so whoever came in knew exactly where he was. He has a wee fenced-off area outside our sliding door where he cruises round and that is visible [from] the road if you looked in, but other than that, it is a case of someone has watched and scoped out the property."
Miss Favell encouraged people to be especially careful with their pets, and be aware of any suspicious behaviour near their properties.
"So sad that I now have to padlock my dog’s kennel when we live in such a great wee community," she said.
A police spokesman said they were unaware of the Roxburgh incident or pets being taken elsewhere in Central Otago, but encouraged people to contact their local police station about any pet thefts.
In Dunedin, four rabbits and a guinea pig have recently been taken from homes. Police think the properties were targeted.
Southern police posted this advice on their Facebook page: "A reminder to people to please take extra care to keep your furry friends safe, as we’ve recently noticed pets are being targeted by thieves in the North Dunedin area ... We have received a number of reports of animals, particularly guinea pigs and rabbits, being stolen, which is distressing for their owners."
Families were being reminded to make sure their properties were secure and to consider padlocking hutches, using CCTV cameras and sensor lights if possible, and noting the registration numbers of any suspicious vehicles.