By Cara Sulieman
A DOG owner who has had his two Jack Russell Terriers stolen is pleading for help in getting them back.
Alex Cruden, 47, keeps Willow and Shock in kennels behind his workplace in Kirkcaldy.
With pups having lived in the kennels behind Cruden Garage for 17 years with no problem, the theft has come as a shock to their devoted owner.
The mother and daughter pair were friendly animals, and Alex thinks that is part of the reason they were stolen.
He said: “They were absolutely brand new. Customers used to come to the garage with their kids just to see the dogs.
“It would have been easy to steal them – they would follow anyone who had chocolate in their hands.
“I am absolutely gutted.”
It was whilst Alex was away in Newcastle visiting his girlfriend that the crooks struck.
Dogs were gone
A friend had gone to the garage at 8pm on Monday night to feed the pooches, only to find the kennels were empty and the dogs were gone.
A garage worker saw the dogs at about 4.30pm on Monday.
And Alex thinks they have been stolen to breed or to order, as he had heard of similar incidents in the Perth area.
He said: “There is no question that they would have escaped because Willow in particular is a quiet dog and would not have left the yard.#
“Just had to ask”
“If someone wanted to breed them all they had to do was ask and we could have sorted something out.”
The dogs are particularly important to Alex, as they are the only two dogs he had ever bred himself.
The father and grandfather of Willow and Shock died last year after 17 years with Alex – and he bred him before he died to keep his line going.
He said: “This was the first time I had bred a dog to keep the line going and that makes losing the two of them even harder.”
Witnesses
Willow is six years old, very small and naturally thin with white and tan colouring.
Three-year-old Shock is almost all white but with a tan patch on her neck.
Kirkcaldy Inspector Stevie Hamilton is hoping that witnesses will contact the police.
He said: “This has caused considerable upset to Mr Cruden and his family and we want to make sure we can return the dogs to him as quickly as possible.
“If you know of the dogs whereabouts, or saw anyone acting suspiciously in the vicinity of the garage on Monday afternoon, please contact us on 0845 600 5702 or Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.”
