Above: Donna Treadwell with Ravin, the mother of the stolen litter of Staffordshire bull terrier pups. Ms Treadwell is appealing for the safe return of the three eight-week-old puppies after they were taken on the weekend.
By Shaun Inguanzo
A KEYSBOROUGH dog breeder is making an emotional appeal for the safe return of a litter of Staffordshire bull terrier pups stolen from her house on Saturday night.
Donna Treadwell, 42, has been breeding Staffordshire bull terriers for 10 years and is also involved in obedience training.
After arriving back at her Kirribilli Avenue house at 2am on Sunday morning, Ms Treadwell said the litter of three eight-week-old pups was sound asleep in a pen.
Ravin, who gave birth to the litter, was curled up with Ms Treadwell in her bedroom that night.
But when Ms Treadwell’s son woke up on Sunday morning at 8am, she said the family realised the puppies – Ice, Laila and Spud – were nowhere in sight, and she feared the worst.
With no obvious sign of a break-in, Ms Treadwell said she was concerned that someone she knew had carried out the theft.
Staffordshire bull terrier pups can be sold for about $1000 each, but Ms Treadwell said she was more concerned about their welfare.
“You spend so much time and effort raising the litter and then you get to this point,” she said, fighting back tears.
“One (of the pups) had been sold and I was planning on keeping the other two.
“(The sold pup) was supposed to go last weekend but had been left in my care for few extra days.
“I would just like the three of them back safely.”
Ms Treadwell said she was “utterly devastated”, but not so much as Ravin, who is confused as to why her pups are no longer with her.
“Normally pups are taken away one at a time, day by day – not all at once,” Ms Treadwell said.
“In this case, she was still feeding them.”
Ms Treadwell said she had reported the incident to police and would soon provide them with a list of names of people she suspected may have stolen the pups.
“We are upset about the puppies, but what is really traumatic is that (the thief) could be someone we know,” she said.
Anyone with information about the theft can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 and Donna Treadwell on 0433 626 723.
