Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 12, 1993 TAG: 9304120003
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
THE TALE WAGGING THE DOGS
Q: Recent news reports have mentioned a possible dognapper in Bedford County, and said the dogs could be sold to research laboratories. Do research labs really purchase animals for research?I have been told that labs will not purchase dogs that are tattooed with an identification number. My concern is that a lab that would use a dog for research would not be respectful enough to return a dog with a tattoo. T.T., Salem
A: This issue does not inspire warm feelings. Hot ones - and cooler thoughts - are the poles that people rally around.
Research labs leap to mind when stories are told about dognappers, but laboratories are not the most likely market for dogs.
Yes, labs do buy research animals. No, they do not buy tattooed dogs. Their conscientiousness is reinforced by federal paperwork that's required on the sources of their animals and subject to once-a-year, unannounced, spot-checks by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Labs using animals for research most likely are developing drugs or are testing the poisonous potential of other products, and these are governed by the Food and Drug Administration or the Environmental Protection Agency.
So, with three federal agencies watching, would a laboratory risk stiff penalties when there is no shortage of unwanted dogs? Not likely.
Thanks to Dr. David Moore, university veterinarian at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, for the above information.a
Pound puppy isn't free
Q: What motives could there be for stealing dogs besides selling them to labs? O.R., Roanoke
A: People may want dogs for guarding, hunting, breeding, fighting or just cheap pets.
Henry County's dog warden, Gerald Wheeler, has a theory about this.
Wheeler obtained the best description of the widely rumored dognapper that any law enforcement source has found. The man is 5-11, 185 pounds with sandy red hair, according to a Bassett woman who said he tried to take her dogs.
The imposter seems to have a different pickup truck in every county, but he's always dressed and equipped like a dog warden.
Why would anyone go to this much trouble? Wheeler says the market may be driven by the cost of adopting dogs from animal shelters. Starting July 1, state law will require that dogs from shelters and pounds be neutered, or a $50 penalty will be imposed.
The adoption fee plus sterilization can run $75 to $100 in Roanoke, depending on the vet and size of the dog. In Christiansburg a pound puppy under 5 months old is $35 and already fixed, but older ones can cost $65 after being neutered.
That's enough to make unregulated sales profitable, Wheeler figures.
In Roanoke, add another $75 ($40 in Christiansburg) for rabies, parvo and distemper vaccinations plus a license. The parvo and distemper shots aren't mandatory but they're a good idea - especially with another law going into effect that makes it a violation to knowingly let a diseased dog run at large. Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.