If you are nervous about dognappers, get a dog run with a fitted top and put a secure lock on the gate. Leave the dog out in the run only when you are at home, bringing it in when you are away and, of course, at night.

Form a "watchdog" group with your friends and neighbors to keep an eye out for any suspect vehicle driving slowly in the neighborhood. (That's the usual scenario these culprits follow.) Take down the license plate number and report it to the police as suspicious, even if such a driver asks for directions. (That's another ploy--pretending to be lost, asking where so-and-so lives, or if this is Rose Court when it is Rose Lane.) By reporting such incidents, you could save the life of a dog--or that of a child.

Author(s): McLennan, Bardi
Publication: Dog Fancy
Issue Date: February 1996