Hobsons Bay police have dismissed social media reports of dogs being stolen from an area ranging from Altona Meadows to Werribee by a dog-fighting ring.
Several Facebook pages have reported that people’s fences are being marked to notify thieves of homes with dogs.
The reports were given credence after a black staffordshire terrier and maltese shih-tzu cross were baited and stolen from a Werribee home on March 27. It is believed the dogs may have been killed by the bait. Their bodies were later found after reportedly being thrown from a car window.
But Hobsons Bay police say there is no evidence of an organised dog-theft racket in the area.
One Facebook page reported that a suspected dog thief was sighted in Newport. Another posted a photograph of a flyer from Altona’s “doggy beach” warning of dog thieves in the area. Senior Constable Sharon Radau said that police last week removed signs from Altona’s Apex Park.
“It’s like an urban myth,” she said. “This was actually going around on the other side of the city two months ago.
“They were saying the exact same story – that a white car would go around and call out for a dog and when they heard a dog they would mark the fence … there was one photograph of a fence with a marking on it – and then they come back and they pick up the dogs at night- time.
“I did some checks and we’ve got no reports of anything like that happening in Hobsons Bay.’’
It is thought that some fences have been marked by pranksters.
» Information to Crime Stoppers, 1800 333 000
