Police 'Refusing To Hand Stolen Dog Back To Owner'

A dog owner claims that the Met Police are refusing to hand his dog back to him after being stolen.

Jon Gaunt, 45, says he recognised him springer spaniel among 49 dogs that had been recovered in a raid in Orpington, south London, six weeks ago.

Officers said that the dog's chip was removed by the thieves that stole her and Jon is trying to get his pet back.

Jon has tried to get the police to carry out a DNA test on the animal. He can get a sample from the breeder but he says 'nothing has happened' despite a month passing.

Jon, from East Sussex, said he knows it's his dog from her markings.

According to the Metro, Jon had five dogs and three were stolen in May after thieves broke the padlock which was keeping his kennels secure.

Speaking previously to the BBC, Jon said: "It wasn't until the next morning, when I went to exercise the dogs, clean them out and give them their breakfast, I saw the chain hanging down and I just had that horrible feeling.

"You have such a rollercoaster of emotions - you feel like somebody has just taken your legs out from underneath you."

Jon found one of his spaniels several weeks later in Kent, the third remains missing.

In September, the Metropolitan Police issued a press release about the dogs that were recovered in Orpington.

The force wrote: "Officers now believe that some of these dogs have been stolen and are looking to reunite them with their rightful owners, however this is proving difficult as most of the dogs have not been microchipped, meaning officers are not able to contact the owners.

Officers also suspect they have uncovered an unlicensed puppy breeding operating at the site. Police are working closely with Bromley Council who have started an investigation into offences under breeding regulations."

Inspector Paddy O'Hara, from the Met's Dog Unit, said: "It's really important for dog owners to microchip their dogs, so that if, in the unfortunate circumstance, they are stolen, we can return them to you as quickly as possible if they are recovered.

"A microchip is a small electronic chip, around the size of a grain of rice, which is implanted under the dog's skin and contains a unique number that can be read by a scanner.

"Your contact details relating to each number are logged on a central database, so should your dog ever go missing or be stolen it can be scanned by the authorities and returned to its owner swiftly and safely."

In a statement, the Met Police told LADbible: "The Metropolitan Police is dealing with a property dispute concerning the ownership of a dog which was recovered by police during a firearms warrant executed in Orpington on Wednesday, 9 September 2020.

"We are in correspondence with the claimant's solicitor.

"We are working to return this dog to its rightful owner and hope to have this matter resolved as soon as possible."

Featured Image Credit: Met Police

Topics: UK News, News, UK, Animals

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media - which inevitably and eventually became as glum as it sounds. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a 'thing' way before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

@RJShepherd94