A Berlin family is looking for their Jack Russell Terrier Oskar. The dog was kidnapped and released. His mistress left scent marks with worn clothing and roast chicken.
The Brandts family from Berlin did not see their dog Oskar for two months. All she knows now is that her Jack Russell Terrier was stolen by a 12-year-old boy in front of a drugstore in Pankow and released again in Kreuzberg.
The family of four from Pankow has offered a finder’s reward of 5,000 euros. Many Berliners are looking for Oskar. According to the association Saving Soul Pfotensicherung Berlin, the chances that he will find his way home are good.
And indeed: The family finally got a sign of life from the little fighter, reported Felix Brandts a few days ago on Facebook. A young woman spotted the dog in the Prenzlauer Berg district. “A very experienced sniffer dog confirmed it two days later during an operation, took up Oskar’s track and located two locations where he must have stayed longer. So far we have not seen him there again, but we are watching these places, ”reports Brandts.
Hundreds of helpers and always new tips
“It is amazing how much attention we received from the start. Hundreds of helpers are looking for Oskar and even work night shifts if there was a sighting, »says Friederike Brandts. “There are always new indications that Oskar was seen. We haven’t received any photos or videos yet, ”says Brandts.
The theft occurred on September 9th: her mother took the dog with her to go shopping and put it on a leash in front of a drugstore, says Brandts. “It was only four minutes. When she came back from the shop, Oskar was gone. ”
Immediately after the disappearance, the family started calls on social media. “And we printed 8,000 flyers,” says the 31-year-old project manager. The loss is painful for the whole family. «But especially for our four-year-old daughter Leni. She asks about Oskar every day », says the mother of two girls.
“You hear every now and then about dogs disappearing while tied up in front of supermarkets. Some are actually stolen from homes or gardens, ”reports Hester Pommerening from the German Animal Welfare Association, which operates the Findefix register for missing animals.
Boy now identified
The boy who stole the dog has since been identified. “He is always out and about in Berlin and takes strange dogs with him,” says Friederike Brandts. In the meantime, people have become aware of the boy who abducted other dogs after Oskar. The dogs were brought back to their owners. In this respect, the public search for Oskar has already brought positive results.
«I very much hope that we will find Oskar again. Then the family is back on track, ”says Brandts. The dog has been part of it for seven years. It is quite possible that Oskar will find his way home even over a kilometer-long distance, board members of the association Saving Soul Pfotensicherung Berlin give hope. “We experience that again and again.”
To make it easier for Oskar to find his home, Friederike Brandts laid scent traces. Among other things, she pulled one of her T-shirts along a tape on the floor in a certain way so that the dog can pick up and follow the smell of its owner.
“All dogs love fried chicken”
She also mixed his favorite food with water and sprayed the liquid on the paths. “And I actually pulled a roast chicken from the dealer we trusted on a belt on the way. All dogs love fried chicken, ”says Brandts.
The Saving Soul Paw Protection Association supports owners in finding their dogs. “There’s an awful lot to do. It is a disaster, ”it says there. Owners reported daily whose dogs had run away. According to the board of directors, the problem has worsened since the corona pandemic, in which many people bought pets. “Often it is animals from abroad that are also extremely scared dogs.” The owners are often inexperienced. “They don’t take care or leash their dogs.”
For example, the Tasso association registered around 33,000 missing dogs nationwide in 2020. At the association, keepers can register their animals and have them tagged so that finders can quickly identify the keeper. Tasso brought around 31,830 dogs back together with their humans in the same period. But not all of them ran away in 2020, reports speaker Sonja Slezacek.
Lots of reasons for disappearing
There are various reasons for the sudden disappearance of an animal. “It can be a tempting track, a terrifying noise or the door accidentally left open,” says Slezacek. “Curiosity, the urge for freedom, the hunting instinct, fright and fear, or even uncertainty due to a new or unfamiliar environment when moving, vacation or traveling,” she adds.
In Berlin, the search for wire-haired dachshund lady Schnipsel made headlines from the end of 2018. It was probably stolen on the banks of the Havel. Especially free riders who wanted to extort money after allegedly finding the dog, bothered the family. «Unfortunately we didn’t find any snippets. The uncertainty that remains is hideous, ”reports Maxi Schwebig today. It was then that she started the search for her mother’s dog. The call can still be found on Facebook.
“We have also received very stupid calls,” says Friederike Brandts. Serious blackmail attempts have not yet been among them.