Mexico City Dognappings: Pet Kidnappings Have Quadrupled in the Past Two Years Patricia Rey Mallen - IBTimes
go to original February 20, 2014

Signs about lost dogs have quadrupled in residential neighborhoods in Mexico City, including Cuauhtémoc and Lomas. (Reuters/Edgar Garrido)

MEXICO CITY - So-called express kidnappings of people in Mexico City are known about the world over. But now the phenomenon has spread further, to encompass the canine pets of that same well-heeled demographic.

Dognappings have been escalating since 2010. Protectores Independientes por la Defensa Animal (Independent Protectors for Animal Defense, or PIDA) estimates that the number of pets taken has quadrupled since then. The Procuraduría General de Justicia (attorney's general office of Mexico City) reported that 51 dognappings were reported in 2013, and 55 in 2012, vs. the negligible cases in 2010, not even recorded. Those numbers are just an indicator, as most dognappings are never reported to police, and when they are, few such crimes are solved (if, in fact, the police even investigate). For the police, the focus is on people, not pets.

Alcántara and wife Laura Ledesma belong to a small percentage who did report the crime to the police office in their neighborhood. After an eight-hour wait, they were required to declare their pets as “robbed valued objects” in the police report. Now almost a month after the crime, there's still no news on Gorda, a French bulldog, or Señorita Tupsi, a pug.

According to Miguel Martínez, an expert in security and kidnappings, the criminals follow the same strategy for dogs as they do for people. “They follow the families for days, sometimes months. They establish their routine, their timetables, who lives with whom,” he explained to local newspaper El Universal. There is, however, one important difference: With people, the ransom amount depends on the wealth of the family; with dogs, it mostly depends on the purity of the breed. Dobermans, chihuahuas, mastiffs and Great Danes are among the more desirable targets.

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