The owner of almost a dozen Chihuahua dogs, stolen from a house in Tralee, Co Kerry at the weekend, believes rare breeds of dogs are being targeted by gangs in the Limerick and north Kerry areas.
Two mothers, along with a male, the father of one of the families, and eight pups were stolen from kennels in the garden of the home of Marian O'Connor, at Blackrock, Upper Rock Street, Tralee in the early hours of Friday morning.
The so-called toy dogs were all thoroughbred and are conservatively valued at €10,000.
Gardaí believe the theft was planned by a group intent on selling the rare dogs. "Someone knew they were being bred there and they had a means of transport to carry them off," Sgt Bill Browne of Tralee said.
There have been a number of such thefts in the Limerick and north Kerry areas in recent months, and many breeders are increasingly aware their dogs may be a target, said Ms O'Connor, a well-known breeder of the Chihuahua, a Mexican breed.
She believes the theft was "not a very professional operation", but she was targeted as a breeder. The thieves would have taken more puppies, but they may have been surprised, she said.
A cardboard box was emptied and the six-week-old pups were placed inside. The mothers followed quietly.
The dogs would be sold on without papers, she said. "I believe the pups are still in the Tralee area," she said yesterday.
Ms O'Connor said she is worried about the welfare of the puppies in particular. Asked to describe the breed, Ms O'Connor said: "Chihuahuas are highly intelligent, friendly dogs and they are very loyal." The pups were due to be sold on and families had already chosen their pups. One woman who had picked out two of the Chihuahua pups has been searching on the internet and issuing alerts, Ms O'Connor added.
The dog, with a white beard, answers to the name of Toby, while the foxy coloured female answers to Gemma, and the black and white female answers to Jade. The pups are of varying colours.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Tralee gardaí at 066-7102322.