Owner fears stolen staffy unlucky

WHEN Lucky was just three months old, he was doused in petrol and set on fire.

Michelle Lake fears that her staffy cross has been stolen to be used in dog fighting in Queensland. . Picture: Jay Cronan

WHEN Lucky was just three months old, he was doused in petrol and set on fire.

The dog, a staffy cross, was then locked in a shed for an extended period of time, according to his current owner, Michelle Lake.

“We rescued him when he was about five months old and named him Lucky, because he was pretty lucky to be alive,” the Pimlico woman said.

“But now he’s gone. We think someone’s stolen him. We’ve searched everywhere.

“The name Lucky is not so appropriate anymore.

“It’s not fair. Lucky was very affectionate and he loved people. He would have been pretty easy for someone to catch.”

Ms Lake said her neighbour’s dog, also a staffy cross, went missing the same day.

And since then she has noticed that ‘quite a few’ have gone missing from the Pimlico, Wardell and West Ballina areas.

There is speculation the dogs are being stolen and taken to Queensland to be used in illegal dog fights.

But police have not had any reports of dogs being stolen in the region.

And Daniel Young, an inspector for the Queensland RSPCA, said he’d had no recent reports of dogs being brought up from northern NSW for dog fights.

“If people think this is happening, then it absolutely must be reported,” he said.

“Dog fighting is a heinous, barbaric thing.

“It is torture for the animals. That’s why we really need people who suspect it’s happening to report it.

“It’s hard to catch the people who organise dog fights.”

Ballina Shire Council’s regulatory services group manager, Rod Willis, confirmed that rangers had received reports that a number of ‘staffy-type’ dogs had gone missing from the Pimlico and Ballina areas.

“Our rangers are aware that a number of dogs of that breed have gone missing,” he said.

“But having said that, we haven’t collected any or picked any up from the streets.

“We don’t have any other information.”

 

Originally published as Owner fears stolen staffy unlucky