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Pets being stolen to order, say dog owners
A KILBURN woman is afraid to take her pet out alone because she fears dognappers are on the prowl.
The 50-year-old contacted the Ham&High after reading how seven-month-old puppy Alfie was stolen in Kentish Town.
The King Alfred Cavalier, who suffers from a heart condition, was stolen from the garden of the family home in Falkland Road on October 17, leaving his owners devastated. Now the Kilburn dog owner, who does not want to be named for fear of being targeted further, has raised the alarm that organised gangs are stealing pets to order.
She said: "In the last month I must have had nine people come up and start talking to me about my dog and asking all sorts of strange questions.
"I have also spoken to other people around here who have had their dogs snatched from them. People are doing it to order. If I wanted a pedigree dog I could just pay someone £50 and have one by the weekend."
The woman, who lives on Kilburn High Road, added that she always keeps the dog on a lead when she goes out for fear that he might be snatched.
"I don't take him out after 5.30pm because it is dark and I always try to go out with groups of people to be on the safe side."
Meanwhile the Todd family have still not heard any news of Alfie's whereabouts.
They bought the dog as a companion for grandfather Philip Todd who is recovering from open heart surgery. It was only later that they discovered Alfie also has a heart condition.
Mr Todd's wife Josephine said: "We still have not had any news and everybody is devastated by this but we are not giving up and we still hope that Alfie will be bought back safely.
"We are really worried about him because he needs his medication every day.
"My husband's condition has taken a turn for the worse now so it has been a bad time for us."
She added that the family had been contacted by dog owners who had also been victims of theft.
"One woman called us to say that her two dogs had been stolen from the back of her car, so there is definitely something going on."
Camden Police were still investigating as the Ham&High went to press.
o Anyone with information about Alfie can call the Todd family on 020-7424 9286 or 0780 339 8380.
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