Question for dog owners.

[Baitball Blogger]

What kind of breed do you have and how often do you get stopped by strangers who are looking to see if you stole the animal?

Mine is a mutt, had her for thirteen years and have had about half a dozen less than pleasant encounters.

[NYC_SKP]

1. Mix of wire haired terrier and westminister, or so I'm told (a rescued dog)

No, nobody has questioned my ownership of Millie yet:

[driver8]

2. What a little cutie!

Absolutely adorable!

[driver8]

3. We have a shepherd/golden retriever mix named Buddy, and a crazy Cocker Spaniel named Charlie.

Both are rescues, and we've never had anyone question us as to where we got them.

Our dog Buddy is the best dog, ever! Very sweet with kids, but takes his job of guarding the house very seriously!

[TrogL]

4. Dachshunds. Nobody stops us - they're afraid of all the barking and growling

[Wait Wut]

5. ohgod.

About 5 years ago someone was POUNDING on my damned door. I opened it to find an irate woman and a bawling child. They were accusing me of stealing their cat, who was sitting in the window at the time. The only thing that kept this loon from breaking into my house is when she mentioned 'she' when referring to the cat. Mine was very definitely a 'he'. I didn't get an apology or a basket of cookies or nuthin'. Just "Let me know if you see her." then she grabbed her kid and stormed off.

[Baitball Blogger]

6. That's pretty bad. They haven't started banging on my door,

but they did call the police over once when I was walking with the dog in the park.

[Wait Wut]

7. The cop had to have been thrilled.

Maybe dye your dog a different color? They sell doggie sunglasses, maybe that would help disguise him/her.

[Baitball Blogger]

11. By now, I think the local police have cottoned on.

Last edited Tue Jan 15, 2013, 05:26 PM - Edit history (1)

Here's my version of that 911 call:

What's that you say? A dark skinned woman walking a dog in the city? For God's sake leave that poor woman alone before she sues this town for discrimination!

[Wait Wut]

14. Ugh.

So that's what's really going on.

I live in a smallish, snow white town and some idiot at a bar was complaining about 'some Mexican with a pit bull'. That Mexican was one of my best friends and happened to be right outside. I introduced them. It felt good to watch the humiliation turn that morons face red. Maybe he even learned something. Maybe. Meh.

[Baitball Blogger]

15. I could stand to have a few friends like you around here.

[OriginalGeek]

41. I'm on the other side of Orlando from you but if you ever need help

give a holler.



I don;t have any bail money but I can at least do something stupid so I can get thrown in the clink too so you'll have some company.

[Baitball Blogger]

45. Noooobody knows, the trouble I've seen....

[marzipanni]

16. I see by your profile that you live in a republican county.

Therein likely lies the problem.

[Baitball Blogger]

17. They create their own problems.

[pink-o]

52. Aw, Geez!

Don't tell me they pull you over and accuse you of stealing your car as well.



I am one, but let me state unequivocally: White people can really suck.

[LiberalEsto]

8. Mine's half cavalier spaniel, half American Eskimo

We get stopped all the time by folks who think she's adorable. Not for any other reason.

[Myrina]

9. Odd.

Over time I've been owned by 4:
an Aussie Cattle Dog (since he was a pup)
a Beagle (adopted when he was 7, came in to the HS as a stray)
a Catahoula (a foster kid when he was 3, then he adopted me)
a Chowbrador (a foster kid when he was 5, then he adopted me)

Nobody's ever asked if they were mine, where/how I got them etc.

I've also fostered over a dozen beagles of various ages over the last 5 years and take them out walking when time/weather/logistics permit. Never had any inquiries on them, either.

How odd for you to experience!?!

[Baitball Blogger]

12. I think this thread is confirming my opinion about my experiences.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

13. Do you look like a dognapper?

I have an oversized cocker spaniel.... People stop to admire him but no one has ever claimed him...even when there have been days I would have gladly given him up.

[avebury]

10. Toby is a 16 pound chihuahua/jack russell and Daisy is some type of a 10 pound small terrier mix.

Nobody has ever questioned their ownership, particularly on their home turf.

Toby is kind of timid but open to being pet if the stranger is gentle about it. Daisy really doesn't want to have anything to do with strangers and want to be picked up and cuddled (although she can be meaner then an 150 pound dog on her home turf).

[In_The_Wind]

18. She is a chocolate lab.

No one has ever questioned her ownership.


Your mutt must be cute if people want it.
just sayin' [img][/img]

[RebelOne]

19. I have a 6-pound Chihuahua.

No one ever approaches me because my dog is a Chihuahua from Hell. I warn strangers that she will bite and she will because she does not like strangers. I have to put her into another room whenever any stranger comes to me door. My dog is definitely not stolen. My son bred Chihuahuas and gave her to me when she was 6 weeks old.

I had a Rottweiler for 10 years that was given to me by a friend when she was 2-1/2 years old. I had to send her to doggie heaven when she was almost 13 because she had inoperable cancer.

[Jersey Devil]

20. Wheaten terrier (and who knows what?) mix, a rescue

Five years old, wiggles his butt for every single person he meets and they all comment that he looks like Bengi. A few neighbors who don't even have dogs stock dog biscuits so they can give him treats when he passes by.

[logosoco]

21. I have a chihuahua that weighs about 4 pounds...

cute as heck and everyone wants to pet him while we walk, but I have to warn them that he bites.
I also walk my neighbors dogs (mixes).
No one has ever asked me if I stole them. That is really crappy that you have ever had to put up with that !

[UTUSN]

23. I've been asked whether I want to SELL my chihuahua, assuming I'm teasing selling

just by having it with me.

[RebelOne]

44. Nobody would want to buy my Chihuahua, as she is a biter when it comes to strangers.

I am her mommy and nobody better take her away from me. I had a Rottweiler that was the same way.

[UTUSN]

46. Mine and her platonic partner are as sweet (and timid) as they look here

This pic was taken when they were pups 4 or 5 yrs ago, but they are just sweet and timid.

[baldguy]

22. I've got a wee little Pibble.

Well, she thinks she's little anyway.

And no, no one has ever stopped me to say I'd stolen her.

[TeamPooka]

24. rescued my whippet/lab from a shelter 4 years ago and you will have to pry her leash from

my cold dead hands to get from me.
The only question I always get is what kind of dog she is because she's so pretty.

[PasadenaTrudy]

25. I have a Chi/Jack mix

Never been asked that. I get told she's cute all the time.

[Honeycombe8]

55. Chi? Chihuahua? She must be tiny! nt

[PasadenaTrudy]

61. 10 lbs, actually! nt

[Honeycombe8]

63. Big girl! nt

[surrealAmerican]

26. That's never happened to me, or anyone else I know.

Perhaps this has more to do with what you look like. Do you dress in all black, with a ski mask?

[Baitball Blogger]

29. That's it. It's probably more to do with what I look like.

Clever you.

[surrealAmerican]

32. I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to sound snarky, but why would anyone accuse you of having stolen your dog? It's a very strange accusation.

Are there a lot of dog thefts in your area?
I still can't figure out why the dog's breed would matter.

[Baitball Blogger]

35. A few years back there seemed to be quite a few posters of missing

golden retrievers. So I assumed people were guilty of jumping the gun, because my dog's face doesn't look anything like a golden retriever's. I haven't seen any of those posters in years, but, today there was another questionable event.

I've had about six such events in total and they have ranged from a car blocking my way out of a park, while the kids and adults came running towards me screaming their dog's name. A cop car was behind them. When my dog didn't respond, they stopped before they reached me and turned around and waved the cop off.

The other extreme involved men who were playing golf, coming off the golfcourse to get on the sidewalk to get in for a closer look. Even though I walked off the sidewalk to climb up a hilly area, they followed me with the intention of getting a closer look at the dog.

And, judging from what I'm reading on this thread, this is not a common experience.

[a la izquierda]

27. I have...

a Hungarian Viszla-Boxer mix, a medium-sized mutt (currently sitting on my lap), and a 4.5 pound teacup Chihuahua. All rescues. Some people ask if my big guy is a pitty, but only if they really know nothing about dogs.

[greytdemocrat]

28. 2 greyhounds

Never asked THAT question!!! It's usually how much exercise they need which isn't much.

[femmocrat]

30. Three corgis.

No one has ever asked how we came to own them. People just ask if they may pet them. One is a Therapy Dog, so he's very approachable.

[pipi_k]

31. Lucy and Nikki

Are German Shepherd sisters. Five years old this coming June.

Nobody has ever accused me of stealing them.

We are rural so they don't get to see many people, and we can't really take them in the car because they always get sick.

But people who have met them have made one of two mistakes...

1. Thinking they are vicious killers. They aren't. In fact, with us, they are absolute sweeties. They're just afraid of other people.

2. Thinking they are docile enough to be approached and petted because they look so sweet.

They were 10 months old when we got them, isolated from people, and not properly socialized.

They do not like men all that much.

They love my grandkids.

[Baitball Blogger]

33. I love the expression on their face.

[pipi_k]

38. Hee hee...I think

I may have been bribing them with a doggy treat...

[riderinthestorm]

34. Too many different breeds and mutts to mention, and never ONCE have I been stopped or questioned

Your dog must be very cute!

[LWolf]

36. An Australian Shepherd.

Nobody is ever going to think I stole her. If other people are around, she doesn't leave my side.

You could hold out her ball and call her to play, and she'd take 2 steps, stop, and sit down. She likes people, and will hog all he scratches you want to dish out, but there is only one human she recognizes as "hers," and she's territorial about it. She won't leave me, even for play.

I don't know if I ever want another dog. She'll be ten this spring, and is still healthy, bouncy, and energetic.

She doesn't chase the horses, chickens, sheep, or cats. She gets along well with the cat. She won't leave home if the gate is left open. She doesn't jump on the furniture. She's never chewed things; not even as a pup.

Her only drawback is the heavy undercoat that she sheds 365 days a year. It allows her to handle really cold temperatures without a qualm, but she also sheds enough hair every week to fill a small pillow.

[TorchTheWitch]

37. Akita - never even heard of anyone asking people if the dog they have is stolen

That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard. Who the hell would even conceive of such an asinine and insulting question?

[LP2K12]

39. We rescued...

a purebred, CKC beagle.

He had four owners in less than a year. His first year alive at that.

No one really bothers us.

[RiffRandell]

40. Part black lab for sure.

I have no idea about the rest (which could be multiple). The shelter said lab/corgi/basset mix. I'm not going to lie; the dog is odd looking.

I've had several people ask me at the dog park what kind of mix he is after staring at him for awhile.

[truegrit44]

42. I have a rat terrier, mini schnauzer and these two

corgi and german shepherd. Never been asked that question but they all or a few at a time go with me often. I get compliments on the shepherd. We live in the country and everyone that comes up here is afraid of the shepherd but he is very laid back and never has been anything but friendly. I raised corgis for many years and is my second favorite breed to the shepherds, this is the only one of those I still have.

[IMG][/IMG]

[Yavin4]

43. Jump Ball! n/t

[Baitball Blogger]

50. I think my next dog may be a corgi.

I just wish they didn't get so stocky.

[truegrit44]

53. Not really real stocky but because of their

short legs appear that way more I think. They are verrrrrrrry agile tho as they are very adept at cattle herding which they are bred for and can move extremely fast because of it. They do SHED a lot tho

[OriginalGeek]

47. My daughter's Papillon

We haven't ever been asked if we stole her but we have been stopped many times asking what she is - the ears are a bit unusual I guess.

If you're ever walking in the neighborhoods near the springs you might run into my my aunt or my grandpa walking their dogs. I promise that will be a pleasant experience for you. They are the ones with the Obama stickers and yard signs.


This is our dog sneaking behind my daughter to see what I was eating:

[Baitball Blogger]

48. The dog looks like a furry bat!

But a cute bat.

[OriginalGeek]

49. Yep - every once in a while

she'l stop running around and look up at me and in my best George Clooney voice I'll whisper "I'm Batdog!"



She doesn't get it but it makes my daughter laugh so that's good enough for me.

[LuckyTheDog]

51. Never happened to me

I also have a mutt. And when people stop me, they usually want to know what breed she is. My answer always is "heck if I know."

[Honeycombe8]

54. Right now I have a cocker spaniel & a Jack Russell Terrier/Lab mix. No one's ever asked if I stole

either of them. I don't understand why they would think I had.

Maybe you own a popular breed that is small and often stolen? JRTs are loud, so hard to steal one of those, I think. Cocker spaniels are friendly, but mine is largish, so it'd be hard to pick him up & sneak off with him.

[Honeycombe8]

56. Yours is a mutt, but what size, & what does she look like? nt

[SEMOVoter]

57. Silky/Yorkie Mix Here, Not so Much Anymore

He's gotten pretty silver, but when he was younger people would stop and ask me if he was a purebred. I always found this funny because he isn't even close to 'standard' for a silky or a yorkie. He does have a cute face and a marching gait. The next question was if I "bred" him. (He's neutered of course)

I think the questions stopped because of the state puppy mill laws.


I'm always taken aback by people that think that way. He's my cat monitor, my friend, my toe licker and my alarm. He's not breeding stock for idiots.

[Baitball Blogger]

58. My dog is a mutt too, and I'm sorry I didn't let her have at least one

brood. Someone once told me that she is a certain breed, though the name escapes me.

[Irishonly]

59. Two GSDs and one GSD mix

We get stopped a lot but it is usually by people wanting to know if we are going to breed them. Sometimes a child will want to know if they are wolf dogs or if they are police dogs. I have never been asked if any of them are stolen.

I walk the dogs a lot and most people recognize them. If someone loses a dog they will ask if I have seen the missing pet.

[sinkingfeeling]

62. Geez! I've owned several Samoyeds, 3 American Eskimos, an Airdale, and

a Komondor. Nobody has ever asked if they were stolen!