Why would anyone do this?

[ginasevern]

Tie their dog up outside of shops. It worries me to death and makes me so angry. Don't these owners realise that their dog, in the blinking of an eye and so easily, could be taken away by anyone.

Dogs aren't just stolen to be sold, they are also taken for animal experimentation, hare coursing and for animal porn and/or torture websites.

The chances of ever seeing your dog again are negligible and god only knows what unthinkable fate you could be condemning it to.

It's not as if stolen dogs have never been in the news is it. Just why do it?

I also don’t understand this or leaving them in cars

Exactly. Heaven knows there's been enough public information about it. What is wrong with people?

I do tie my dog up at our village shop. It's a small village and tbh my dog isn't the fuss me type so would probably not be appealing. I guess it's a small risk but the benefit of the walk to the shop vs being left at home makes it worthwhile for me. I wouldn't tie her up outside Asda at our nearest city

@Borris

Yes but Is anywhere really safe these days? Even though you say your dog isn't the "fuss me" sort (I assume you mean cute and cuddly?), that is utterly irrelevant to the person stealing dogs for animal torture videos.

I’d probably feel differently if I lived in a big city. Most people know each other where I live. I guess there is a risk to everything. Eg when I let my dog off the lead for a run, she might run off in the other direction and get run over … but the risk is very low and the benefit of the run makes it worthwhile. Likewise the walk to the shop makes the risk worthwhile for 5 minutes tied up on the dog park.

It's not just about them being stolen - what if they slip their lead or collar and get hit by a car, or bite someone, or someone kicks them or hurts them while you're out of sight?

It's just a stupid risk IMO.

@Borris

Sorry but I don't see how you can say "the risk is worthwhile". Surely a 5 minute walk cannot be worth the risk of your dog being abducted? Anyone could take her within one minute, let alone 5. Would you leave a baby in a pushchair outside of a shop for 5 minutes, or at all?

I used to tie mine up outside the post office too, it was on our daily walking route so it made more sense than walking him, driving him home then driving back to the post office to buy a stamp! There is no safe walking route from where I live, the post office is in a quiet, small village and he would bark if anyone approached him.

Absolutely @catelynjane I just can't get my head around people's logic. Why would anyone leave a beloved dog, tied up, out of sight and basically defenceless.

Everyone saying it's a really small risk - I mean, you're not wrong, but if it goes wrong, the consequences are lfe-changing.

Do you have a dog, @ginasevern ?
I have one. Gets tied outside shops, the library, outside friends’ houses. Abroad I don’t even tie my dog, walks beside me and knows the shops that allow dogs and waits unprompted outside those which don’t. In my hometown abroad the pharmacist brings his German shepherd to work, it sits behind the counter. And most dogs walk themselves (I don’t agree with that because of the poo, but that’s another story).

It’s ok. But for you to tell me what’s ok for me and my dog…well, don’t worry about us.

@Ratfinkstinkypink

So basically it was easier to leave your dog in a vulnerable position than to make two trips on the odd occasion when you needed to buy a stamp?

I would point out that your dog (or anyone's) wouldn't have a chance to bark if he was targeted by someone who threw petrol over him. Yes, I did witness this, outside a small village shop in fact some years ago.

@BuddhaAtSea

Yes, I do have a dog and have always had dogs (rescues). I think it's wonderful that your pharmacist is able to bring his dog to work. I don't know what your point is there. I'm not telling you to do anything but leaving dogs unattended no matter what country you are in is taking a risk on several levels.

Mums used to leave babies in prams outside shops.
They wouldn’t dream of doing that now.
Why do you think that is?

That's exactly it @catelynjane

The risk may be small but my god, at what cost to the poor dog. Imagine how you would feel for the rest of your life.

Vivid imagination you have there. Dog porn videos?? I've never seen one but perhaps you know more about them than the rest of us.

Probably because they have an unrealistic view of the risk involved.

@ScierraDoll

Oh my goodness Scierra. Have you no idea that animals are used in bestiality videos? It is called zoophilia. You truly cannot be that out of touch.

Did you not read recently (it was all over the news) about the man in Australia who raped and tortured hundreds of dogs. He had his own website and it was viewed by millions worldwide. Have you not equally read about the baby monkeys being tortured to satisfy the same market. It is big business and very prolific on the dark web every bit as much as child porn is.

You seem to think it is a joke.

Well for my dog it’s a 10 minute walk off lead over fields, 5 minutes tied up and then 10 minutes back versus being left home alone for 25 minutes. I’m happy with the level of risk. But if you’re not then don’t do it!

@ginasevern I did because I weighed up the risk of us being involved in an RTA along the route (there have been several serious accidents on that road in recent years) against the number of dogs snatched locally (no reports that I could find) and took the option with the lower risk. You may have chosen a different solution but I am happy with the choice I made.

But dog owners allow their dogs to roam freely in parks and woodland often quite a distance from them. If someone wanted to snatch a dog surely that would be the place to do it. Waiting around on the off chance someone leaves a dog outside a shop doesn't make sense.

I guess we make our own risk assessment, I tie mine up for a couple of mins outside the local shop, which is small enough that I can see her through the window. Leave her in the car in winter for 10 mins or so, she just curls up and goes to sleep

Both are equally risky (and stupid) imo. I'm a dog walker and often come across dogs who are way out of sight of their owners - the other day I had to rescue a Labrador who was just wandering in the road in between cars - the owner wasn't even home and had left the dog to just loiter in the driveway!

As a dog walker I often come across random dogs with no owners anywhere in sight. They inevitably turn up with a friend and are totally oblivious!

I would never leave my dog outside a shop. If I need to got to the shop I walk her then take her home before walking to the shop.

It's not worth the risk, someone could take her, she could get run over, another dog could attack her and she wouldn't be able to get away or someone could torment/hurt her and I'm 99.9% sure she'd never bite anyone but what if she did?

I wouldn't purposely put my dog in a vulnerable position.

@catelynjane Yes, I have often taken lost dogs home with me over the years and waited for the hapless owners to collect them.

@BeansOnToast32 Agreed. Why would anyone put their dog in a vulnerable positon for the sake of a pint of milk? Perhaps some people think we're still living in the 1950's (although that was not without crime) but at least there were bobbies on the beat and no drug addicts or people with severe mental health issues wandering the streets. That is not a prejudicial comment by the way, I know there is no funding for such social issues.