Queensland dog theft spike fears as Gold Coast man’s puppy taken right in front of him

John Mizzi had just taken his six-week-old puppy out to the toilet when the Shih tzu cross Toy Poodle was stolen by a woman right before his eyes. He managed to track the culprit down but the incident highlights the rising instances of pet thefts in Queensland.

John Mizzi was taking his puppy "Luqa" outside for a wee when it was quickly stolen by a woman. John chased after her and nearly got run over - his daughter posted the photo on social media and the woman called and apologised and returned the dog. Pics Adam Head

A MAN has been reunited with his puppy after it was snatched and stolen in a “spur of the moment” raid, as neighbourhoods’ grow increasingly afraid thieves are targeting expensive dogs.

Crime Stoppers Queensland have received two reports of stolen dogs in the past two weeks.

But Pet theft investigator Kirilly Cull says pet theft is on the rise, with her own records indicating in the past 12 months there was an average of two dogs reported stolen in Queensland every week.

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Ms Cull said the offences were premeditated and often carried out in “clever ways”, with some thieves placing sand-filled balloons on driveways as a way of “tagging” properties where an expensive breed, or any dog deemed of value lived.

She said this technique had been reported in Jimboomba, with one local only days ago warning others on Facebook after she witnessed a man driving through Victoria Dr placing blue balloons filled with sand on each property that had a dog.

However, the RSPCA’s Michael Beatty said he did not believe the balloon tagging was a threat, suggesting it could be a prank — although he warned people to take care of their pets, especially when others know they can make money from stealing “designer dogs”.

Ms Cull is the founder of a Queensland-wide pet lost and found group and volunteers her time to reunite pets with their owners.

She said there were a few different reasons why dogs are stolen, either as bait, financially motivated theft or emotionally driven theft (break ups, vendettas).

And the worst areas for these thefts or attempted thefts were in Logan, Toowoomba, Ipswich, Gympie, Caboolture, Rockhampton, Gladstone and Cairns.

Ms Cull said it was “rare” for the owners of a stolen dog to see it again.

John Mizzi’s six-week-old Shih tzu cross Toy Poodle was stolen in the middle of the night at Surfers Paradise last week.

Mr Mizzi had only owned Luqa the puppy for hours before taking him out for a toilet break in the middle of the night, only for him to be snatched by a woman.

As he chased the woman down, he claims she jumped in her car, locked the doors and almost ran him over in her bid to flee.

Luckily, Mr Mizzi even managed to write down her number plate and police have confirmed they are investigating.

“My two girls put this all up on Facebook, and I had people from all around the country calling me and saying they hope I get her back,” Mr Mizzi said.

“The following afternoon I get a call from a girl saying she found my dog so I got her address and had someone pick him up, then after she rang me again and was all apologetic for stealing him.”

Mr Mizzi believes the only reason she confessed was because of the power of social media, the post went viral.

“I only had him a couple of hours, imagine how I felt and my kids had to fork out over $2000 for the pup,” he said.

Mr Mizza said his daughter Ebony was also targeted at Jimboomba when she found a blue balloon filled with sand.