Pit Bull Owner Warns Others Of Possible Dog Thieves

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A woman from The Linden Hills neighborhood in South Minneapolis has a warning -- Watch out for people trying to steal dogs.

When Lindsay Stahl came home on her lunch break Tuesday she let her pit bull mix named, Joey, out into the fenced in backyard.

"Within minutes," Stahl said, "I heard her barking, a specific bark when she's afraid of someone."

Stahl said she ran to the backdoor and saw a man with his hands outstretched over the fence.

"He wasn't paying any attention to my other dog, a lab, who was excited about a visitor," Stahl said. "He was trying to get Joey to come to him."

Stahl is a Veterinary Technician and has worked with pit bull Rescue groups in Minneapolis.

She said she thinks Joey was being targeted by a dog fighting ring.

"They often use the dogs as bait," Stahl said.

But, when the man heard Stahl scream, "What are you doing here?" she said he ran down a back alley to a waiting truck.

Other neighbors said they'll be cautious and keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

Minneapolis police say reports of dogs being taken happen from time to time, but they don't know of any specific cases and this doesn't appear to be a trend.

Stahl only saw the man's cap, it was blue with an orange "C" on it. The truck, she said, was black, but it sped off so fast she didn't get a license plate number.