Recently a friend of mine was so pleased with his new pet, a small purebred dog that he bought online at a VERY modest price. He drove to a neighboring state to meet the seller at a rest area off the highway. The man seemed unconcerned about whether my friend would take care of “his” pet. In hindsight we suspect the dog might have been stolen, but there is no way now to know where it came from or how to find its real owner – if, in fact, it was stolen.
“Dognapping” may sound like a pooch taking a snooze, but it’s something much more sinister. The word is derived from the term “kidnapping” and refers to the crime of taking or stealing a dog from its owner.