FL: 17 pit bulls stolen from backyard near Ocala

Seventeen pit bull terriers, most of them puppies, were reported stolen from an Ocala-area residence on Monday.

A woman who lives in the house in the 7600 block of Northwest 49th Avenue told a Marion County Sheriff's deputy that she left the home around 8 p.m. to get dinner, according to a Sheriff's Office report. When she left, the dogs — two adult females and 15 puppies three to four weeks old — were all locked up in the backyard.

About 9:15 p.m., the woman said, her boyfriend called and told her the dogs were missing. The woman said she checked and that the dogs were not in their pens.

They had been in cages that were off the ground and secured with a barrel-bolt latch. The cages are in the backyard, which has a privacy fence, officials said.

The stolen dogs were valued at $950.

Neighbors told a deputy they did not see anything unusual.

Lt. Brian Dotten, a supervisor for Sheriff's Office Property Crimes Unit, said Tuesday that officials are in the initial stages of the investigation. Dotten said that at this point he does not know whether the thefts are related to at least two other incidents in which pit bulls were stolen.

In late May, seven pit bulls worth an estimated $8,000 were stolen from pens at an Ocala home.

Deputies were told the thief or thieves entered the backyard, opened the pens and took the dogs. Three of the dogs — Jigger, Proda and Momma — were between the ages of 2 and 5. Four 5-month-old puppies also were taken.

Days before that theft, five pit bulls puppies worth an estimated $6,000 were stolen from a home in the 5700 block of Southeast Second Street. The victims said they left the home and, when they returned, a Vizio flat-screen TV and the dogs were missing.

Those puppies were just a few weeks old and were with their mother in a bedroom at the time, officials said. The dogs' registration papers were also taken.

Anyone with information can call the Sheriff's Office at 732-9111 or Crime Stoppers at 368-STOP, text a tip to 274637 using keyword 368-STOP, or visit Crime Stoppers of Marion County — Report a Crime Online.



By Austin L. Miller Staff writer
Published: Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at 1:40 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at 1:40 p.m.

17 pit bulls stolen from backyard near Ocala | Ocala.com