A dog owner fears her pet is being targeted by thieves after finding string tied to her fence twice in the space of a month.
The woman, who lives in the Dunning area but did not want to be identified, issued a warning to other owners to be on their guard.
She first found the twine on her property on May 6, before noting a second incident earlier this week.
On both occasions she spotted a “suspicious” white van prowling the area. She believes that it is possible someone is looking to steal her large cross-breed dog.
She said: “The first time it happened was May 6. I noticed a very obviously tied on piece of string at the top of my six foot high fence.
“I was concerned as I had heard rumours that dog thieves were operating in the area and were marking properties with string to show whether there was a dog on the premises.
“Then on June 3, as I was leaving home to take my daughter to school, I noticed the light green thinner string looped around one of my fence posts this one hadn’t been tied on, but woven through the slats.
“I am worried my dog is being targeted it struck me as very strange that twice in the space of a month, this strange van was seen in the street and the next mornings there was string tied to my fencing.”
The woman said she had reported both incidents to the police.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman confirmed they were aware of the first incident, but could find no report of the second.
She said: “We received a call about this incident on May 6. There is no evidence of any criminality.”