By KATH GANNAWAY
WHAT do these tags mean?
Despite continuing assurances from police and animal shelters, dog-owners in Yarra Ranges are fearful that dog stealing is a reality, with house marking seemingly the main ‘proof’.
An Olinda woman, the owner of two dogs, rang the Mail after discovering two yellow wire tags on her back fence which backs onto public land.
“I have a friend whose dog has gone missing and when she put up a sign in one of the local stores the owner said it was the third one,” she said.
The woman told the Mail the fence was recently built and the first she had seen of the tags was when she found them about two weeks ago.
Debate has raged on Facebook sites for months about different sorts of ‘tagging’ including letters and symbols painted on gutters and letterboxes, to coloured wire tags.
The Mail reported in July on the experience of Mount Evelyn woman Renae Harrop who found a blue ribbon tied to her fence after disturbing a man who was acting suspiciously in front of her house, and in August reported on rumours in the Upper Yarra Area.
Police and Animal Aid say the evidence is simply not there to support claims that dogs are being stolen for organised dog-fighting rings.
Debra Boland from Animal Aid in Coldstream said dogs stolen for any purpose are not going to be taken into Animal Aid, but said reports of lost dogs were consistent.
“We are always getting reports of dogs going missing, some turn up, but the problem for us is that not everyone let’s us know one way or the other,” she said.
“The numbers change when there are storms or fireworks, but we haven’t seen any unusual spikes.”
Both Ms Boland and local police the Mail has spoken with about the issue say people need to report the matter to police if their dogs go missing in suspicious circumstances.
If any Mail readers recognise the tags, pictured, and can provide an explanation as to why they would be tied to a random fence in Olinda, give us a call.
