Stolen dog rescued at Swakopmund

NO stone was left unturned in the search to find a young white Alsatian-husky cross that was stolen from her beachfront home at Mile 4 on September 28.

The dog, Bella, was eventually tracked down by a security agent a week later and was found traumatised and starving in a backyard in the Jabulani area of Mondesa. A combined effort by the Swakopmund traffic department, the Police and hero of the day Gordon Resandt, Operation Manager at West Coast Protection Services, proved that animal rights are indeed alive and well.Resandt, a former detective and prison officer, acted swiftly on a lead given by the owner of the dog, journalist Donna Collins, who had adopted the animal only three months earlier from the Walvis Bay SPCA.Collins had swung into action once she realised Bella had been stolen, and that a neighbour had spotted the dog being loaded into a white Ford Bantam bakkie with a Keetmanshoop registration.According to eyewitnesses, the man was a keen fisherman, and used Mile 4 as his regular fishing spot.He was also employed as a security guard at the coast.Flyers, radio announcements and updated reports to all law enforcement departments as well as the various security companies operating in the area continued relentlessly during the days Bella was missing.Distraught and determined not to give up, Collins assisted in the investigation which resulted in Resandt pinning down the suspect and leading her to an address where Bella was being kept.The dog was removed from the yard immediately and taken home.Collins has laid a charge of theft against the suspect, which is currently being investigated by the Swakopmund Police.Collins told The Namibian that dog theft is an ugly reality, especially particular breeds which are stolen by people who keep them for anything other than the purpose of being a family pet, especially if there is a price on their head.She has often retrieved animals from seedy-looking characters selling pedigreed dogs on the street.One of the incidents involved a Jack Russell puppy stolen from an elderly woman by the house cleaner, the other was a pure-bred husky which a man wanted to swap for a bottle of brandy, and in another case a fox terrier was stolen by security guards who were trying to extort reward money from the owner.Collins praised the dedication and professional investigative work of Resandt, who handled the case as though it was a missing person, and took the theft of a dog as seriously as any other crime.The Police warned dog thieves that it is a serious offence in the eyes of the law.They also appealed to people who pick up stray dogs on the street to take them straight to the nearest SPCA.A combined effort by the Swakopmund traffic department, the Police and hero of the day Gordon Resandt, Operation Manager at West Coast Protection Services, proved that animal rights are indeed alive and well.Resandt, a former detective and prison officer, acted swiftly on a lead given by the owner of the dog, journalist Donna Collins, who had adopted the animal only three months earlier from the Walvis Bay SPCA.Collins had swung into action once she realised Bella had been stolen, and that a neighbour had spotted the dog being loaded into a white Ford Bantam bakkie with a Keetmanshoop registration.According to eyewitnesses, the man was a keen fisherman, and used Mile 4 as his regular fishing spot.He was also employed as a security guard at the coast.Flyers, radio announcements and updated reports to all law enforcement departments as well as the various security companies operating in the area continued relentlessly during the days Bella was missing.Distraught and determined not to give up, Collins assisted in the investigation which resulted in Resandt pinning down the suspect and leading her to an address where Bella was being kept.The dog was removed from the yard immediately and taken home.Collins has laid a charge of theft against the suspect, which is currently being investigated by the Swakopmund Police.Collins told The Namibian that dog theft is an ugly reality, especially particular breeds which are stolen by people who keep them for anything other than the purpose of being a family pet, especially if there is a price on their head.She has often retrieved animals from seedy-looking characters selling pedigreed dogs on the street.One of the incidents involved a Jack Russell puppy stolen from an elderly woman by the house cleaner, the other was a pure-bred husky which a man wanted to swap for a bottle of brandy, and in another case a fox terrier was stolen by security guards who were trying to extort reward money from the owner.Collins praised the dedication and professional investigative work of Resandt, who handled the case as though it was a missing person, and took the theft of a dog as seriously as any other crime.The Police warned dog thieves that it is a serious offence in the eyes of the law.They also appealed to people who pick up stray dogs on the street to take them straight to the nearest SPCA.