Pet Theft Up 50 Percent Since Last Year: Evidence of a Downed Economy or Utter Depravity? [View All]

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http://www.alternet.org/economy/152865/pet_theft_up_50_percent_since_last_year%3A_evidence_of_a_downed_economy_or_utter_depravity

October 25, 2011 |

Stolen somewhere in New Jersey, a pitbull mix and a bulldog were found in a Newark cemetery tied to headstones, badly hurt, their faces and throats slashed with boxcutters. The pair had been used as bait for fighter dogs in training, their faces cut to give the fighter dogs a taste for blood.

Dogs vanish every day from yards, homes, shops, sidewalks, shelters, and cars.

"The owners think their pets escaped. But no," says Associated Humane Societies executive director Roseann Trezza, who rescued the Newark pair. "Unless you see someone taking a pet, you can't say for sure it was stolen. And nobody wants to believe their pet was stolen. They'd rather think it escaped."

"In this economy, it's a way to make money," Trezza says. "Someone steals a cocker spaniel or a Maltese and they can sell it in their neighborhood for $50 or $100. Dog-fighting rings always need bait."