Someone Stole Five Amish Puppies Worth Thousands of Dollars (Lancaster County)
I’m calling them “Amish puppies” in the title as shorthand. But you know what I mean here. Amish-owned puppies.
Five of them have gone missing from a Lancaster County farm. This report is from WHTM:
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM)– Pennsylvania State Police are searching for a suspect who stole five Labradoodle puppies from an Amish farm in Lancaster County.
According to State Police, on Tuesday, April 22, at 4:18 a.m., troopers responded to a burglary at an Amish farm on Scenic Road in Leacock Township. Police said an unknown individual entered the barn and shop between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. the previous night and stole multiple puppies and other items.
Labradoodles are a popular, relatively new hybrid breed of dog – a cross between a Labrador retriever and a Standard or Miniature Poodle.
A quick search tells me a Labradoodle can typically fetch between $1,500 and $3,000. So potentially the theft is worth up to $15,000. The stolen pups are nine weeks old.
Also note that the troopers responded at a very early hour – 4:18 AM. That is about milking time for many Amish farmers. Most likely the missing puppies were discovered when someone went out to do the morning milking.
Dog breeding among the Amish
Dog breeding is a popular business for some Amish. It might be a sideline income for some families – or you even have full-time breeders.
As the numbers here suggest, it can be quite lucrative – and relatively easy to add as an enterprise that a family can run on a spacious farm which is already accustomed to dealing with animals.
That noted, I should probably mention, as it will be brought up, that there has long been controversy over “puppy mills” among the Amish – and some truly bad examples of them. One common criticism of such businesses is that some breeders fail to understand that dogs are not livestock, and have different needs.
But not every dog breeding business, Amish or non-Amish, is a puppy mill (however that term is defined). In any case, Amish breeders are among those fulfilling a public demand for “designer” dogs like the Labradoodle – and more traditional breeds as well.
A strange detail
Back to the case. In addition to the dogs, whoever did this also – strangely – took a couple other items: “a black box home phone, and removed a notepad piece of paper with the unknown individual’s phone number.”
Unless I’m missing something, that last bit is confusing – if the individual is unknown, how would someone know that this unknown person’s phone number had been removed?
Is it possible that this “unknown individual” is not as “unknown” as it’s made to sound?
Police are investigating, and anyone with info is requested to contact Pennsylvania State Police Lancaster County at 717-299-7650.
I think I can figure that out, and if I can, I am sure law enforcement are already on it..lol
That is a shame.
I think they need to get a job. There are numerous places that need help. That person should be more like the Amish and go to work.
End times
I think it’s disgraceful How they have been treated. I believe we’re in the last days. It’s getting worse in the world. I’m a born again Christian and a lot of Gods people are coming under attack. God says “I will repay”. If the person sees this that’s guilty, you need to make it right before judgement comes upon you!.
Another example
It’s so sad to hear stories demonstrating how low society is willing to sink. That said, I suspect the family who suffered the loss is looking at this as the thief likely needed the money more than the family. I hope that’s the case and I know it will all work out in the end.
I’m assuming that the ‘black box home phone’ mentioned is something like the one pictured at https://anabaptistworld.org/tech-savvy-amish/. As described by Lindsay Ems in her book ‘Virtually Amish: Preserving Community at the Internet’s Margins’, it’s a landline phone connected to a ‘black box’ that can access the cellular network- (from the photo, it appears to be a Verizon Home Phone Connect), all in a plywood box, powered by a motor vehicle’s cigarette lighter socket, and was designed to let the many construction crews in an Indiana settlement (unnamed, but I suspect it’s Allen or Adams County) to have access to mobile communications on the road without the temptations that individual phones with text and internet capability would allow.
Stolen Puppies
Hello All . . .
It just never fails. People always taking advantage of others when-if money
is the motive-they could’ve just as easily
gone out & got a job. That being said, I
hope that the person responsible doesn’t
harm the sweet little pups now that a
report has been made with police. It’s
certainly not the fur babies’ fault and
they shouldn’t have to suffer for this. I pray that anyone who recently bought
a new puppy sees this & other stories and contacts authorities so the fur balls can
be returned to their rightful owners. I do
hope there aren’t any heartbroken kids with tear-stained little faces worrying
after these magnificent creatures. Thanks Erik, for bringing us this story.
Puppies
One of my criticisms of the Amish is their puppy mills. Yes, they are just livestock and the mama dogs live miserable lives. Other times, a family will raise a certain breed dog and the parent dogs at least have some freedom. WHOEVER stole these pups, had to have been there recently to know they were there to steal, this wasn’t just random and they will be found out.