A devastated Highland Perthshire gamekeeper has issued an emotional appeal for information after the death of three of his pups and the theft of six others.
Darren Smith expressed his shock and anger after the grim discovery of the dead dogs.
It is thought those reponsible struck at the 29-year-old’s kennels in Killiecrankie some time overnight on Thursday into Friday.
The golden labrador pups were just four and a half weeks old.
Mr Smith fears he may never find out who carried out the wicked crime and admitted he was struggling to understand why anyone would contemplate such an act.
He said: “It’s ridiculous. I just went in and found three of the pups dead, with the other six missing.
“No one else knew about them as I had not advertised them for sale yet.”
While the stolen pups are likely to be traumatised, Mr Smith remains hopeful they may yet be traced alive and well.
“The ones who have been taken are now no longer feeding off their mother so they could survive but I would just like to know why this happened,” he said.
“It’s horrendous. My parents contacted the police and I’ve been trying to get word out about what happened.”
Mr Smith said he had not heard any good news from the authorities.
Meanwhile, his mother, Lesley, said mystery surrounds the death of the three pups.
She said: “It’s an awful thing to happen. There was no blood where the three puppies had died so that’s a mystery.”
His mother also urged potential buyers to be on the lookout for anything suspicious.
She said: “If you are offered a golden labrador, about five weeks old, do not buy without seeing the parents as the pups have been stolen.
“These pups should still be with their mother and are too young to be separated from her.”
Mr Smith has been scouring internet marketplaces and sites to look for anyone trying to sell the labrador puppies and for those asking suspiciously low prices.
Meanwhile, many people have taken to social networking to call for people to be on the lookout for the missing dogs.
One said: “If anyone in Scotland gets offered a yellow lab puppy and they cannot provide proof of where they came from, please contact the police.
“Let’s get these puppies home.”