Breaking into your home and stealing your dog by burglary is now sadly an everyday occurrence in the news and on Facebook.

A news item recently reported that someone who was walking their dog at 7.00am was held at knife point by someone demanding that they hand over the dog lead. This can be considered to be a frightening, traumatic, cruel growing trend.

These pets are important much loved family members, leaving grieving owners feeling heartbroken.  Old people have lost their trusted companions. Children are losing their lifelong friends.  Adults are left worrying if their pet would be mistreated and even used as dog bait by illegal dog fighting rings. 

We need an urgent deterrent.  The threat of tougher sentences would be a start, as would increased publicity through this petition, bringing awareness to this cruel growing trend. This is much more than theft! Theft is stealing a tin of beans. This is about stealing and trafficking a family member, causing immense distress and wrecking lives. It should warrant much more severe punishment than mere petty theft.

Please sign this petition to help gain the required number of signatures, so that something will have to be considered to help stop this awful and cruel separation of families from their dogs.