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ALBUQUERQUE — Animal Protection of New Mexico, an Albuquerque-based animal advocacy group, is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of a person or persons believed to be stealing small dogs in Colfax County.
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Two dogs missing from Springer area in recent months, out of at least seven reported missing.
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Angela Stell, shelter manager at Colfax Pet Rescue in Springer, said she has received reports of at least seven small dogs that have disappeared under suspicious circumstances in the area around Springer and Maxwell in the last several months.
"Everything I've heard has led me to believe these dogs were taken out of their yards," Stell said.
Springer resident Helen Benne said she's sure her tea-cup-sized Chihuahua "Peanut" was stolen from her fenced yard in December. Even her story's happy ending seems to prove humans were involved in Peanut's disappearance, she said.
"I had let him and our two other dogs, Furby, a big Aussie mix, and Chocolate, a dachshund, out in our yard. When I came back 15 minutes later, Furby and Chocolate were still there, but Peanut was gone," she said.
"I called Angela and the next day she got a call from a lady in Maxwell, who had found a dog that turned out to be Peanut. There's no way that tiny dog could have gotten all the way to Maxwell in one day," she said.
Steve Duran, also of Springer, said his Jack Russell terriers Shango and Maria disappeared July 11, 2008. He and his wife Louise Bernal searched for them daily, until Bernal was killed in a motorcycle accident July 25. One of his regrets is that Bernal died before she could see her dogs again, Duran said.
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"I hope this opens people's eyes to take close watch on their pets, and opens the eyes of the people taking the dogs to the impact they have on other people," he said.
Sherry Mangold, APNM's cruelty complaints administrator, said she doesn't want to speculate on who is taking the dogs or why they are taking them. But, she added, almost always people who steal dogs do so for personal profit, with no regard for the pain they inflict on the animals or their owners.
Mangold offered key precautions:
– Never leave your dogs outside unattended or for a long time.
– Keep your dogs appropriately licensed.
– Have your dogs microchipped.
– Save veterinary records to help identify your animals as yours.
– Take photos of yourself with your dogs to help identify them as yours when found.
Colfax Pet Rescue's Stell contacted APNM about the numerous missing dogs. She states that the group should be among those called to report a missing dog. Contact Colfax Pet Rescue at 575-643-6664.
To provide information that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of anyone stealing dogs in this area, call the toll-free Attorney General's Animal Cruelty Task Force hotline at 888-260-2178.
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Contacts for Missing Dogs in Colfax County:
Colfax Pet Rescue — 575-643-6664 or colfaxpetrescue@bacavalley.com
KRTN 93.9 FM "Pet Patrol" — 575-445-3652
Raton City Animal Control — 575-445-8640
Raton Humane Society (Raton only) — 575-447-9328
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