Police urge pet owners to report attempted dog thefts in the Stamford, Bourne and Deepings area

A police inspector is urging people to report suspicious activity following the attempted theft of a pedigree dog.

With some pedigree puppies fetching more than £2,000, Insp Gary Stewart says people in the Stamford, Bourne and Deepings areas should exercise caution when leaving their pets outside.

He said: "Although we haven't seen an increase in dog thefts in this area, there was an attempted theft of a Labrador on October 1 from a home in Bourne , and I would encourage people to contact us if they see something suspicious.

"As with anything that is valuable, it's best not to leave it on display, and so we'd urge people to keep dogs in their back garden rather than at the front, and to consider whether keeping dogs outside in kennels or runs is secure enough overnight."

Pet charity Blue Cross also offers the following advice to people to help prevent theft:

• Don't leave dogs tied up outside shops or alone in a vehicle, even for a few minutes
• Get your dog microchipped by eight weeks old (which is the law) and keep contact details up-to-date
• Take clear photographs of your dog from various angles, and of you with your dog as proof of ownership
• At home, make sure your garden is secure and fit a bell to the gate so you hear if anyone opens it
• Keep your dog in view in the garden - don’t leave it unsupervised