I was rung today by a friend involved with competitive obedience. She told me she had read on the members forum of Obedience UK that yesterday at a friends home two people knocked on the door (they had a white van with in very small letters RSPCA on the side) they were dressed to look like RSPCA officers. When the door was answered by the son of the family these ‘RSPCA’ officers said there had been complaints bout the family dogs barking and they had been sent to check on the dogs and remove them if necessary. Anyway the son knew his rights and refused entry to these people saying that his parents were out and they should come back when his parents were home.
It turns out these people are going round trying to gain access to properties then ‘confiscating the dogs’ and that is the last anyone sees of their dog or dogs. When the boys parents contacted the RSPCA on returning home, they said they had not received any complaints about the family dogs and had definitely not sent anybody to the property. It turned out this is a gang going round impersonating officials of various agencies and on gaining access to the property they take the dogs, which are sold on or held for ransom. The people who posted in Obedience UK live in Letchworth Hertfordshire.
Do make absolutely sure that anyone you let into your house is genuine. Officials will carry ID cards and you should always check with the organisation they claim to be from that they are indeed working for the organisation concerned. Do find a telephone number yourself for the organisation do not call one they give you on the doorstep in case it is a bogus one. If in doubt you can always contact the police if you think the people are criminals.
