Dog-Stealing.
practice of stealing dogs is both directly and indirectly connected with a great deal of cruelty. There are more than twenty miscreants who are well known to subsist by picking up dogs in the street. There are generally two of them together with aprons rolled round their waists. The dog is caught up at the corner of one of the streets, concealed in a moment in the apron, and the thieves are far away before the owner suspects the loss. These dogs, that have been used to every kind of luxury, are crowded into dark and filthy cellars, where they become infected by various diseases. The young ones have distemper, and the old ones mange, and all become filled with vermin. There they remain until a sufficient reward is offered for their recovery, or they are sent far into the country, or shipped for France or some other foreign market. Little or nothing is done by punishing the inferior rogues in this traffic. The blow must be struck at those of a superior class. I will not assert that every dog-dealer is in league with, and profits by, the lower thieves; but it is true of a great many of them, and it is the principal and most lucrative part of their trade. They are likewise intimately connected with the dog-fights, and encourage them, for the sake of their trade as dealers. An attempt should be made to bring the matter home to these scoundrels
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[Dog-stealing], we are more particularly informed by Col. Hawker, is reduced to a perfect system in London, and carried on by a set of fellows who, by their cunning and peculiar knack, are enabled to avoid all detection in their nefarious traffic, and thus, by extortion of rewards or sales of stolen dogs, reap a rich harvest for the whole fraternity from the well-stored pockets of the numerous dog-fanciers of the English capital.
The villains engaged in this business are known among themselves under the too often abused sobriquet of "the Fancy," and assuming the garb of different mechanics, prowl about the streets, oftentimes with the proper tools in their hands, carelessly watching the movements of every dog thst passes by, ready to grab him up the first fitting opportunity. The dog is then concealed till a suitable reward is offered for him, when, through the intervention of a third person, a trusty agent of the society, he is delivered over to his rightful owner, the actual rogue never appearing in the whole transaction.
If no reward, or an insufficient one, is offered for the recovery of the dog, he is either sent off to the country, or, perhaps, cautiously exposed for sale in some distant quarter of the city, or perhaps killed for his skin alone.
These gentry, however, prefer returning dogs to their owners for a moderate compensation, as they thus know at what rate the animal is valued, and cherish the hope of soon being able to steal him again, and thus obtaining another reward.
There have been instances of a lady paying, in successive rewards, a sum not less than fifteen guineas for a miserable little lap-dog not worth as many shillings.
If anything is said about the law, or threats of prosecution held out in the notice offering a reward for a "lost or stolen dog," the death of the kidnapped animal is inevitable, as the "Fancy" prefer sacrificing an occasional prize rather than run the risk of detection by some enthusiastic or stubborn dog owner. These fellows, as well as thieves generally, are said to have a method of quieting the fiercest watch-dogs by throwing them a narcotic ball, which they call "puddening the animal."
The following account, extracted from Hawker's work, will give the American reader a perfect insight into the maneuvering of these sharpers.
"In the month of May, 1830, Mr. Lang lost a favourite setter. He posted handbills offering two guineas reward; on hearing of which a man came and told him the reward was not enough, but that if he would make it four guineas he could find his dog, and the amount must be deposited in the hands of a landlord who would procure him a ticket-card. He should then be met to his appointment in some private field, where he would receive his dog on condition that no questions should be asked. Mr. Lang sent his shopman, about half-past ten at night, to White Conduit Fields to meet the parties, who, on receiving the ticket, delivered up the dog. But there was great hesitation in transacting this affair, in consequence of the dog having on a lock to a steel chain collar with Mr. Lang's name, and which, therefore, induced them to proceed with extreme caution, through fear, as they supposed, of detection for felony. The whole amount paid for recovering this setter was £4 17s., £2 10s. of which went to the men who had him. The rest was divided among others of the "Fancy." The same person who gave Mr. Lang the information, said that if ever he lost a dog, and applied to him, he could undertake to get him back again within thirty-six hours, provided he would make it worth his while to do so; because all dogs taken by the "Fancy" are brought to their office and regularly booked by the secretary."
(Hawker on Shooting, p. 592.) — L.
Plutarch relates that, at the theatre of Marcellus, a dog was exhibited before the emperor Vespasian, so well instructed as to exercise in every kind of dance. He afterwards feigned illness in a most singular manner, so as to strike the spectators with astonishment. He first exhibited various symptoms of pain; he then fell down as if dead, and, afterwards seeming to revive, as if waking from a profound sleep, and then sported about and showed various demonstrations of joy.
Mr. Bishop, of Bond-street, has assured the public, that he is able to prove that money has recently been extorted from the owners of dogs by dog-stealers and their confederates, to the amount of more than a thousand pounds. Surely this calls for the decided interposition of the legislature. A strange case of atrocity and cruelty was related by a gentleman to Mr. Bishop.
"A young dog of mine," says he, "was lost in London, and, being aware that if a noise was made about it, a great price would be asked for it, I gave out that I wanted to purchase one: I was shown my own dog. I seized it; but there were several scoundrels present who professed to belong to it, and threatened to kill the dog if I did not pay for it. I proceeded to describe it as my own, stating that it had bad back or double teeth. Judge of my surprise when, after great difficulty, and the dog crying greatly, its mouth was opened, and all the back teeth had been taken out! I paid two pounds for it before they would let me take it away; but, in consequence of the injuries it had received, it died a few days afterward."
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