Warning to Toronto dog owners: Evidently it's legal to steal dogs.

[Jax's Mom]

UPDATED: Stolen dog returned to owner | Posted Toronto | National Post

Though the dognapper has been identified by police, no charges have been laid and police said in a press release there are “no grounds to prove any intent to commit a criminal offence.”

wow.

[jaggirl47]

This is why you should never leave your dog unattended like this. When I lived in San Antonio, people would take little dogs right out of yards. It's sick.
I agree Jax. I think being caught on video shows criminal intent.

[fuzzybunny]

ugh, I can't believe this!

A couple here in Ottawa had their Bernese Mountain Dog stolen out of their yard. They even offered to name their first child (she was pregnant at the time) after the person who rescued their dog. Molly was never found. I think they're still looking even though it was months ago. I can't imagine how horrible that must be.

[Jax's Mom]

Although I'd never leave my dogs unattended because I'm afraid of them either being stolen or some do-gooder "rescuing" them, this area of Toronto is one of those expensive boutique neighborhoods where everyone leaves their dogs tied out in front of stores and the weather has been really nice for the past couple of nights so I don't really blame the owner for leaving the dog outside... I'm more outraged that nothing is being done to the thief who stole the dog.
I could understand if maybe the person returned the dog on their own, it might encourage someone in the future to return a stolen dog if they know nothing will happen to them, but I don't think that was the case here.

[shadow mum]

That is crazy. I don't leave Shadow alone outside of stores, someone always stays with him, but not for fear of him being taken, more for fear of him jumping on someone. At the very least, isn't that theft of personal property?

[selzer]

unreal.

I have a question, if you get your dog from a pound for $25 and someone steals it, would it be considered "petty theft"? If you bought your dog from a reputable breeder and paid $1500+ for the dog would it be considered "grand theft"?

[RogueRed26]

The system can be horrible at times. I hate it that animals are just considered as property. Even then, it is not considered criminal to steal a pet but a civil dispute. Most of the time, it is simply reported and nothing else is done. I have experience because of this and, unfortunately, was not able to get my dog back. The police had names, text messages asking ransom, ransom photo pics of her, and phone numbers, but they would not do a single thing about it. The next call I got, which I did not answer, was a voicemail from the jerk saying he threw my dog off in some field and to stop getting the police involved cause he "did nothing wrong." I reported it to the police and nothing. I can only hope what goes around comes around.

[CassandGunnar]

Originally Posted by selzer

unreal.

I have a question, if you get your dog from a pound for $25 and someone steals it, would it be considered "petty theft"? If you bought your dog from a reputable breeder and paid $1500+ for the dog would it be considered "grand theft"?

It would depend on what State you live in. In MN, thefts are classified by the "value" of the property, not necessarily what you paid for it. (If you happen to get a great deal on a riding lawn mower at $50, but it is worth $750, it would still be considered a felony. The cutoff in MN in most cases is $500 to make it a felony)
I think most States are similar, but I can't say for sure.

[selzer]

Yeah, but even if you put orthopedic surgery into your shelter mix, I doubt if you could convince a prosecutor to charge them with grand theft. Unfortunately, I doubt if you could get them to put a charge of grand theft on a dog anyway. You are lucky to get your dog back alive, if there was any investigation at all. It is up to us to protect our dogs. Shoot dog-nappers on sight. Bury them in the moonlight. And remember the rule: SH -- SH-- SH--. Shoot, shovel, shut up!