VICTIMS of ‘dognapping’ in East Lancashire have backed plans to recognise dog thefts as a specific type of crime.

New statistics show a big rise in reported dog thefts in the county over the last three years, with more than 120 pets reported stolen.

Supporters of calls for a pet theft law said despite the growing numbers of animal thefts being reported to police year on year, many still go unreported.

Community leaders said they would overwhelmingly support the implementation of the proposed new law with harsher penalties after 124 pet thefts were reported in Lancashire in the last three years.

Care assistant, Patricia Savoini, knows the heartache the theft of a family pet can cause after her German shepherd was snatched from her garden in 2010.

The 58-year-old, of Wittlewood Drive, Accrington, spent six years looking for her beloved ‘Sultan’, only to discover he had been happily rehomed with an 88-year-old widow in Torquay.

She said: “We were absolutely devastated when he was dognapped. 

“We felt as if our world had completely fallen apart.

“Sultan was very territorial and would have never had left on his own.”

As Mrs Savoini tried to find her five-year-old dog she called on the help of police, neighbours and local dog centres.

But it wasn’t until Sultan’s new owner took him to a vets to be microchipped it was discovered he already had a family and had been chipped.

Mrs Savoini said: “Six years after he disappeared a letter landed on the mat telling us someone was trying to re-chip Sultan and asked if we gave our permission.

“We just couldn’t believe it, we thought he had gone for good.

“We travelled down to Torquay to get him back but when we arrived and saw how well loved he was we just didn’t have the heart to take him.

“Sultan had been renamed ‘Buck’ and was well looked after by his new owner.

“It was clear he loved him as much as we did.

“He had packed up all Sultan’s belongings and I could see in Mr Smith’s eyes that he didn’t want him to go.

“I didn’t want to break his heart just as mine was broken when Sultan first left.”

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show a 22.3 per cent rise nationally in pet theft reports in just two years.

In Lancashire, in 2013, there was 27 reported animal thefts followed by 36 in 2014 and 44 in 2015.

Gareth Johnson, a Conservative MP in Kent, was the first to call for a specific crime of pet theft to be introduced.

Nick Pickup, 42, of Durham Road, Wilpshire, had his seven-year-old Yorkshire terrier Max stolen in November 2014.

But despite reporting the theft to police, putting up posters and asking neighbours to keep a look out, Max has never been found.

The dad-of-four said: “My daughters were absolutely devastated.

“We had him for seven years and he was a big part of the family.”

Not all stolen dog stories end in misery. Nellie the pug was found wandering the streets of Burnley in December last year.

She was taken to Oakmount Veterinary Centre where she was scanned for a microchip and her owner’s details discovered.

Six months after going missing Nellie, who had been snatched from Norwich was reunited with her owner Marie Ling.

Speaking at the time, Mrs Ling, said: “We got to the point where we thought that’s it.

“It was just heart-wrenching when the vets told me she’d been found.
“I was in floods of tears.”

Currently dog thefts are treated in the same way as a the theft of a laptop or a mobile phone.

However, the Ministry of Justice said courts were told to account for emotional distress.

Under the new law tougher penalties could be handed out if the specific crime of pet theft is created.

Andrew Stephenson, MP for Pendle, said: “When I sat on the cross party animal welfare group in Parliament last year we wanted to try and bring in different ways of making sure animals were properly protected.

“With microchipping becoming compulsory, the amount of stolen and missing dogs should come down.

“There should be tougher sanctions however for thieves who are intending on taking dogs, you cannot class a pet and a phone as the same.”

Graham Jones, MP for Hyndburn, said: “Obviously stealing a dog would cause a lot of distress to the animal. Stealing a phone or another inanimate object is completely different.”

Experts from animal charity Pendle Dogs in Need said many dogs are stolen to order, for fighting or to be bred and can fetch thousands of pounds on the black market.

Steve Wood, from Hyndburn Stray Dogs, said: “Stealing a dog is like stealing a family member.

“If someone stole one of your family members you would be up in arms and you would do anything you could to get them back.”

A spokesman for the MoJ said: “The maximum penalty for theft is seven years imprisonment and there are no plans to change this.

“The independent Sentencing Council recently issued revised guidelines for dealing with theft which make clear courts should take into account the emotional distress.”