An Arbroath woman has told how she rescued her husky from rogue dog sellers who threatened her with a knife after the animal was stolen from outside a shop in Dundee.
Anna Locke’s terrifying ordeal began in June when a friend who was looking after nine-year-old Konan left the animal tied outside Tesco on Murraygate.
Within minutes the dog was gone and later Anna was tipped off that he was being advertised for sale online at £900.
Fearing they may never see the much-loved pet again, Anna and her father staged a daring rescue mission by pretending they wanted to buy Konan, then snatched him from his captor’s squalid flat while being threatened with a knife.
Konan, who showed signs of having been mistreated, is starting to get back to his normal self after his terrifying ordeal but is still displaying symptoms of trauma.
Now Anna wants to raise awareness of the dangers of leaving pets unattended in public places.
She said: “All it takes is five minutes for a dog to be taken.
“When Konan was gone I felt so helpless, I didn’t know where he was or if I’d ever see him again.
“Missing Pets Dundee and Angus helped me launch a social media campaign with digital posters and we got so many responses.
“A woman in Dundee called saying she’d seen her neighbour, who didn’t normally have a dog, standing outside with a husky.
“The way she described it, I knew instantly it was Konan.
“We were also told Konan was being advertised for sale online.”
Anna’s mum then waited outside the flat in Stobswell where Konan was being held, but was unable to rescue the pooch.
Anna added: “My mum went there after work so she ended up chasing the man in a suit and high heels.
“It seems funny now but at the time we feared that if Konan was sold that would be it.
“So we went back, this time with my dad, after ringing the number on the advert and pretending we were interested in buying Konan.
“The flat was disgusting, it had no carpets or furniture, just a sleeping bag on the floor.
“Konan immediately ran towards us and my dad told the guy this was our dog and we were taking him.”
Anna said the man then took out a knife and threatened to stab them, but they managed to get away unharmed, with the dog.
She added: “Konan is doing better now but he’s a different dog, much more timid around strangers and doesn’t like to be left on his own.
“I’m so glad it’s all over now – it was such a traumatising ordeal for us and the dog too.”
