Security cameras captured video of a dog thief at work in Heshan, Guangdong province recently, and it’s frightening. Watch the speed with which the men operate: the van pulls up, a man leans out of the side with a hook, and it’s all over. It’s a snatch and go operation, and the poor pup — though it’s suspicious of the oncoming vehicle from the start — never has a chance.
We don’t see the license plate, but maybe police are able to zoom in and find these people. It’s not much comfort for the rest of us pet owners here, of course: your loved one can disappear without a trace, just that easily.
We’d hate to speculate where this particular dog is ending up, but it’s probably not an adoption shelter. A recent China Daily article states that according to a May 2011 survey, “more than 80 percent of households in three villages on the outskirts of Jinan, Shandong province, have experienced dogs being stolen in recent years.”
“Rural households always keep dogs to guard their homes. Thieves prefer the bigger dogs as they have more meat,” Guo said at a recent animal protection seminar in Beijing organized by Northwest University of Politics and Law.
The stolen dogs are often sent to nearby meat markets and restaurants, while some are shipped to other parts of the country, such as Jiangsu and Jilin provinces, the survey found.
Meanwhile in Jiangsu (Youku news video), a thief trying to hit a dog with a poison dart inadvertently hit his two-legged colleague-in-crime, which is the best kind of karma — the kind we absolutely wish on bandits everywhere.
UPDATE, 2:55 pm: A cursory search on Youku reveals a whole lot of these type of videos. Here’s one man talking about his poisoned dog — likely dead, just like his neighbor’s that suffered the same fate — and here’s one (from Liveleak) of a supposed dog thief — whose “pet” was found in a bag on his trike — getting abused.
This is perhaps the best reason to not eat dogs?
Absolutely a heartbreaking experience. For some, it’s akin to having their children abducted, resold or even killed. As we well know, many of these dogs are sold to some cretins who kill them, serve them either at home or in restaurants.
The police must enact laws to protect the sanctity of life to all creatures.
But I am dreaming, since I just forgot in which country I live.
These dognappers and the folk who eat dog should simply be pushed into a ditch and shot without ceremony.
No ifs, no cultural buts.
Suggest that people go for a more muscular dog like a Russian wolfhound, Neapolitan mastiff etc.
Better still they should keep wolverines, a critter which could take out a whole division of PLA troops.
Maybe that dog was a troublemaker, like Milo.
Everyone in my neighborhood has a dog and at least a dozen of them are barking at each other at any given time in a non-stop cacophony of shrill uselessness.
Milo is the undisputed leader. The terrier holds court in the downstairs patio and commands a sizable canine army.
It just doesn’t end. They’re even barking right now. It’s like a chain reaction throughout the entire neighborhood: Milo starts, and then the other and then the other. Before long, they’re all barking and yipping and growling and snarling and panting.
I have absolutely no idea how their owners could be so impervious. It’s ridiculous. Sorry dog owners, but when your “family member” lowers the quality of life for your neighbors, it becomes problematic.
Sometimes they fight in the street. Sometimes they bark at 4am and wake everyone up. Sometimes they bite kids, which is exactly what happened a few weeks ago when a toddler in a stroller got bit in the back of the head and get to get stitches.
Authorities couldn’t do anything and the owners refused to put it down. You can Google it.
“We can’t control Milo anyone,” sighed the defeated-looking domestic helper when I went over there to complain. “I’m really sorry.”
So, all of that being said, Guangdong Snatch N’ Grab Co. Ltd—come and get Milo. He’s waiting. And so are the others.
In China, there really is such a thing as a free lunch!