The owner of the German Shepherd Nora and her nine puppies still can’t believe it. Monday morning her litter of three weeks old was stolen. One of the animals was trampled to death by the hedge. “Probably it started beeping and they were afraid we would hear it. How sick are you then?”
Feelings of sadness, anger and powerlessness alternate rapidly at the Volkelseweg in Boekel. Dog Nora had her first litter three weeks ago. That was taken between a quarter to and a quarter past seven in a dark van with lettering on it. “I just saw the car, but they already took off,” says the owner.
“They stamped her to death to silence her.”
As if the theft wasn’t bad enough, she then makes a gruesome discovery on the ground. “One of the puppies lay there with her tongue out of her mouth, dead. They just pounded her to death in freezing cold to silence her.” It affects the owner and her family visibly when she talks about it.
“Heartless, just heartless,” she says. “There was sand all over one side of her head. We also found shoe prints in the sand next to the hedge.” Mother dog Nora still licked her deceased puppy. A heartbreaking sight. There is no trace of the three females and five males that were taken.
According to the owner, the German Shepherd is quite upset. “She’s looking for her puppies, her children.” The theft also made a big impression on the family. “Now I come to myself again in the evenings. My son went to school, but he came back. He was just thinking about the puppies.”
Stories are circulating on social media that the nest comes from a bread breeder. “Not true, this was Nora’s first litter and she’s only two and a half.” The family has had litters before, with other dogs, but they don’t like bread breeding. “It’s really not fun when people write and think that.”
“They must have known about the puppies.”
The black German Shepherd and her offspring stayed in the stone shed in the yard. It is close to the house and can be seen clearly from there. Not from the public road.
“They must have known about the puppies and climbed the hedge too. If they had opened the gate a bell would have gone off.” Vets in the area have since been notified of the theft in the hope that someone will take them there.
“They are still dependent on their mother. The puppies had just opened their eyes and were able to walk a bit.” Like the police, the family is seriously concerned about the health of the little German Shepherds. Besides the worries about the puppies, mother Nora also needs to be taken care of.
“She still produces plenty of milk, but it is not drunk. As a result, there is a considerable risk of udder inflammation.” The vet is now prepared for that.
“This is just for the money!”
There can be no question of any kind of animal love as far as Nora’s owner is concerned. “Not if you kill a puppy, not if you take them away from the mother like that. This is just about the money.”
A shepherd puppy can easily fetch 500 to 600 euros each. “I’m afraid we’ll never see them again and fear for their future.”