Ten, eight-week-old German Shepherd puppies were stolen from a property on Black Diamond Dr., near Third St. Park on Monday, June 26. (submitted photo)

By Alex Rawnsley

STOLEN DOGS

Search ongoing for stolen German Shepherd puppies from Nanaimo property

Jun 28, 2023 | 8:41 AM

NANAIMO — Local Mounties are involved in trying to locate several stolen dogs.

Reserve Cst. Gary O’Brien said ten puppies, each just eight weeks old, were taken from a home in the 300 block of Black Diamond Dr., off Jingle Pot Rd. and Third St. during the early morning hours of Monday, June 26.

The owner’s 14-year-old daughter was alerted to the situation after hearing noises from the family’s backyard around 3 a.m.

“She couldn’t see their faces, they had toques and hoodies on but they had gone into their kennel which was not locked and picked up what appeared to be all 10 of the eight-week-old German Shepherd puppies and ran to an awaiting dark SUV.”

The group then drove off towards Jingle Pot Rd.

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O’Brien noted the owner reported to RCMP immediately, as well as various social media and animal welfare groups in the region. They’ve also fully cooperated with investigators.

Five of the dogs were located soon after off-site and returned to the property, however five with darker snouts remain missing.

“No sightings, but we’re actively searching and we’re pretty confident we’ll be able to return the other five. This touches at the heartstrings of many people when they see a beautiful little animal, and they want to make sure the animal isn’t harmed in any way.”

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 250 754 2345, quoting file number 2023-21602.

O’Brien added a theft of this kind is rare.

“We’ve had the odd one off theft of an animal and often the animal is returned and sometimes it’s a neighbourhood dispute, but nothing to this extent.”

He was also unable to comment on reports of an ongoing SPCA investigation involving the property, however NanaimoNewsNOW has reached out to the BC SPCA to verify information.

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alex@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley