Mumsnet Talk

"Any dog owners beware, leaflet droppers or anyone walking around housing estates.
Keep your eye out for small coloured STICKERS on gates or doors, gangs are marking how many dogs live there to steal and they are using them for DOG BAIT FOR FIGHTING.
Ring the police immediately if you see any and inform the home owners. Remove the stickers immediately!
Red stickers are for big dogs
Yellow for medium and
Pink for small breeds
Please re-share and keep your dog safe!
This is already happening in the Goole Yorkshire area, UK and could be spreading across the country. This is disgusting"

I'm always slightly sceptical.

I have no dogs, either.

Sounds like utter bollocks to me.

Yup, I don't have a gate, either.

Have you seen any stickers?

Never heard this tbh.

I've just seen this on FB too, shared by one of my friends who loves a bit of scandal!

I have stumps though.

Where did you read this?

sounds like bollocks, but no proof it is bollocks. Who makes up this shit? I hope it is bollocks anyway.

Yup, mine's shared by my friend who RarelyCriticallyThinks.

it was on my facebook wall too - sounds like a hoax to me. You can submit new messages to snopes and they will investigate it for you.

Facebook, Lyn, that place.

I've seen it on FB too. Linked by 'dog people'.

Why do the thieves need stickers?

Why don't they just steal dog? What is the point of the sticker? Is if s kind of note to self?
Confused

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hoax-Slayer/69502133435 - lots of posts about it on hoax-slayer website but not yet confirmed as rubbish or not

I went to Snopes, and there, powerhoop, but came away nonthewiser, so I thought I'd ask you wiseys.

Of course it's a load of rubbish, you doofus

Who is stealing the dogs? Fucking Ali Baba?

I like the idea of Staples restricting the sale of coloured stickers in THeirFightAgainstThisHeinousCrime.

Doofus? Are you lovingly insulting me in the Seventies?

I think it's probably an alarmist piece of flim flam.

However, I do think that there should be a code for warning one of the possible nature of the children of the house:

Red: Child with heavy cold and/or adenoid condition - likely to have nostrils dripping like church candles and to be unacquainted with the concept of a handkerchief

Yellow: Vaguely unsettling child who stares silently and unblinking at one from a distance

Orange: Child armed with plastic tommy gun/light sabre/cricket bat/Roy Rogers lasso/Daddy's golf club

Blue: Conversational skills not likely to exceed why why why why why why why why what

Green: Bogey flicker/smearer/consumer

Black: Damien Thorn from The Omen. I shit you not.

what if it rains and the ink runs and then you cant read the numbers any more, their plans would be ruined?!

Do dog thieves have no memory whatsoever, then? If they manage to get info about dogs living at a particular house? TV thieves seem to manage without leaving little notes to themselves about where a TV might be.
How would diverse groups of presumably rival dog thieves develop an Industry Standard colour code?
And why would a thief leave information for a rival thief?
This sounds like total nonsensical stupid old bollocks.
For the deficient in critical thinking, indeed.

But no doubt there will be a rash of little coloured stickers on gates just to keep the whole thing going.

Would the shape make a difference, TAT?

If I were a dognapping criminal mastermind, I would probably note down the addresses where desirable dogs lived on my initial, daytime recce, then text/email them to my associates who did the actual stealing...erm...

...nah, that still sounds silly.

But relative to carefully sticking colour-coded stickers on the gate so that my accomplice could wander round identifying them later...

<call Snopes, we have a live one! >

The shape of the child, Chaos dear heart?

Oh no, I am not shapeist.

LOL at TalcandTurnips.