Stolen dogs: Owner turns pet detective after spotting pup

A woman whose dogs were stolen turned pet detective after spotting one of them for sale almost 200 miles away.

Jane Jenkins, from Swansea, believes her labrador and cocker spaniel dogs were stolen for breeding.

After combing through online adverts she found her labrador pup, Arthur, but said she's "broken" without her other.

Research suggests the dog breeding market could be worth nearly half a billion pounds a year.

Ms Jenkins said she thinks the thieves who have her cocker spaniel bitch, Bandit, could potentially make tens of thousands from breeding litters and selling them to unsuspecting customers online.

Despite security measures at her licensed kennels, thieves broke in and stole the pair one evening last January.

Ms Jenkins and her brother were at home when they noticed a suspicious vehicle approaching.

"It was just like any other evening, we had shut the gates at 17:00," she said.

But then her brother spotted headlamps coming up the drive on the security camera.

"And as we were running out, the wheels were spinning on the grass and they were gone."

South Wales Police began an investigation and have been updating her on developments.

However, Ms Jenkins who described her dogs as "her life", also began her own online search for the microchipped pair.

She spent hours every day scouring online ads and making appeals on social media in the hope of finding them.

In March, there was a breakthrough when Ms Jenkins received a tip off - texts and photographs of an online advert offering a male labrador puppy for sale in Merseyside.

"I've looked at thousands of black labrador puppies, and that he was the first one that I'd actually thought, yes, that's him," she said.

"I couldn't believe he was in Merseyside. And then I slightly panicked on how we were supposed to get him back."

South Wales and Merseyside police discovered it was in fact her pedigree pup, Arthur, and he was returned home.

A man, whose home the dog was at was arrested but later released without charge after telling officers he had bought the dog from someone else.

But almost a year on, Bandit is still missing and Ms Jenkins fears that by now, she may have been forced to have multiple litters by illegal breeders.

She described her as having an "unusual colour" sable with fawn and the "sweetest temperament".

"I don't know which way to go. You think right - I will go to find her, well do you turn left, do you turn right?"

Ms Jenkins said she still feels broken over the theft and has not felt safe in her own home since.

"Bandit is part of my family. I've got no children. So the dogs are what I call my children, my family," she added.

"They [the thieves] are not animal lovers. They're purely doing this for money.

"I can't understand how anybody can be cruel to something that's got a beating heart."

Her desperate appeals for Bandit's return have been shared hundreds of thousands of times on social media.

"I'm struggling... I work seven days a week like a robot and look after my elderly ailing mother trying not to show her how heartbroken I really am," she wrote.

In August, Ms Jenkins thought she may be getting close to finding her after spotting an online advert for a litter of pups in south east England.

A bitch with what appeared to be very similar, distinctive markings was photographed with a litter of pups - a short video was also posted by the seller.

But when Ms Jenkins reported her suspicions to the police, she was subsequently told by officers that the address used by the seller had turned out to be fake.

The number of online ads has soared since the start of the pandemic.

While there are many licensed and responsible breeders, the online market is being abused by illegal breeders.

Research obtained by BBC Wales Investigates suggested there was a 71% increase in the number of adverts on two of the most popular pet selling websites.

The number of adverts increased from 197,000 ads in 2019 to 337,000 in 2021.

Meanwhile, some breeds appear to have nearly doubled in value over the past two years.

The total value of dogs advertised - on two popular sites alone - rose from £153m on ads placed to £486m.

On social media, Ms Jenkins continues to make heartfelt appeals and has set up a new Facebook page for information.

The hundreds of posters she put up across her home city in the hope of finding Bandit may be fading - but her determination to get her back is not.

South Wales Police said four men and two women, from Neath Port Talbot, have been arrested in connection with the incident, and released under investigation.

A spokesperson said anyone with information should contact the force.