The Goblins have won this time.

[308Mike]

I'm thinking they took the dog to gain easier access to your house at a later time..

Eyes and ears open more then ever.

Call me crazy but that was my first thought.

No, you're just thinking tactically without specifically doing so. Once the dog is gone, breaking into a place is MUCH easier - depending on any other defenses they may have. Chances are, they won't strike right away, they're going to wait to see if the animal was a pet or used for protection (or a combo of both). If the dog is replaced right away, they know it's for protection and there's valuables inside the house. If signs are posted and reward offered and no new dog shows up immediately, then they have to re-evaluate their target. Even so, the pet could also be part of the home security equation, and by removing it, they now have a potential for less noise, less notice-ability, if and when approaching the 'target'. It can be difficult to access a canine alarm, some make no noise at all, but once you enter the property, they don't let you leave, baring fangs, low growls and all (my old Doberman was like that - "Killer" was his name - & he was named before we got him, I was 16 at the time).

When dealing with dogs, crooks NEVER know just what exactly they're dealing with, unless they personally know the animal - and that might give them away too.

As long as your dog is gone, I'd put up more motion detectors and flood lights - in an effort to give you as much advance warning as possible, AND plug in some kind of UPS to alert you at any time the house poser is cut and goes to battery. Most all UPSs will beep within a few seconds of going to battery power to keep false alarms to a minimum while providing power to other critical systems (I have them on my office circuits, my TV/Stereo/Cable Box (so my wife can still watch TV if the power is out locally instead of regionally) - but it'll beep within a few seconds once the power is out - and you can hear the beeping all throughout the house.

Protect yourself, then put up signs about your dog. If nothing else, use peer pressure to try and get him returned by posting cute or personal pictures which more than likely will appeal to women ('cause the guys won't care). Tear-jerking the women might help you get your dog back if they have it locally.

[Dedicated_Dad]

How can you be sure the dog didn't just escape?

Molly The Wonder Dog -- whom has never been equalled, much less excelled, in the multi-millenial history of canine companions -- was infamous for this.

If I told her to stay, you'd have to drag her with a choke pole -- LITERALLY -- as she wouldn't even lift her head off her paws, much less go along.

If I DIDN'T say "STAY!" -- and turned my back -- she'd be gone in a flash.

Of course, SHE could usually be found in the Grocer down the road - sitting in front of the Deli-counter, waiting for snacks. The place was called "Molly Stones" and -- apparently -- she thought she owned the place... But I digress...

Are you sure he didn't just grab an opportunity to go exploring?

DD

PS: +100 on he "you can come in, but you WILL NOT LEAVE!! (Bwaahaahaahaaahaaa...)" Dobermans. Met more than one of those in my life....

[SharkBait]

Good points all. My point about causing great bodily harm was (mostly) analogous. I was in a pretty emotional state and writing out what I would like to do made me feel a little better. It's one thing to express desires for retribution but another to act on them. I know the law and abide by it, although the shot in the kneecaps is a nice thought...

Dub: The dog was in the yard and not inside, as he's a guard dog. I know about the security issues and am addressing them now. I have the motion lights, bars on the windows, all valuables in the safe, etc. I also come by the house during odd intervals through the day. One would think that the Gadsten flag on the front of the house would be an indicator to an intruder to choose another location but probably not.

skb: He does not have a microchip but I have hundreds of high res pictures and hours of video. I can easily prove he's mine if found.

DD: I'm sure he didn't run off as both his instinct and training kept him on the yard. I could leave the gate open for weeks and he wouldn't cross the line, even for other dogs passing by. He would only cross the gate after I went out and then called him to come with me.

As to how they did it, I have no idea. It wouldn't be easy and there are no signs of a struggle. Two years ago my next door neighbor's 2 chows were shot dead in his yard in broad daylight. Last year my neighbor across the street had his 100lb pit bull cut off of a substantial chain also during the day. (did I mention this is a rough neighborhood)?

As you can imagine I'm a little on edge. There was someone banging loudly on the side of the house this morning and I nearly surprised the power company guy through the window with the shotgun (I backed away from the window before he saw me). Not used to people being able to get in the yard without an audible warning from the dog.

I'm going to play it straight and legal. We have the ads on Craigslist, fliers with pictures everywhere, and I'm on a first name basis with the animal shelter folks. Thanks all for the words of reason. I knew I would get temperance here when I wasn't thinking clearly.

[Termite]

Something else you can consider: digital game cameras. These are about as cheap as they get. Paint to blend in with your house.
My transmission guy is using them to take pics of goblins climbing the fence into his repair yard to steal stuff.

[SharkBait]

UPDATE: Someone dropped the dog off in front of the gate around 3:30 this morning. The neighbor was just coming home (late shift) and saw them and gave me a call. I was out the door in under a minute but only saw the dog waiting by the fence. His collar had been broken and reattached. He was groggy and aloof. Other than that he's none the worse for wear. Now I'm just more confused than before, but relieved and rethinking some of my previously held beliefs about home security. I'm putting up more lights, a couple of cameras, and upgrading the home security system. I'm also going back to the Clint Smith style neck pouch by the bed for when I need to go from dead asleep to out the door in under a minute with everything I need on me. Sometimes when you think you're prepared but don't test your theories under pressure, you're not. Thanks again to everyone for the tips and the "anger management" lessons. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to sleep for a week.

[Netpackrat]

Glad to hear your buddy made it home. I'm sure he has a story to tell, too bad he can't.

[DwightG]

That's wonderful news! It's not just a dog. It's a part of your family. I understand your initial reaction...quite moderate in my opinion. Very glad you got him back and didn't need to deploy the troops.

[skb12172]

Good news. I'm glad it worked out for you. A couple of things...

1) Talk to your vet about having an Identification Tattoo placed on your buddy. That will do more than all the high res video in the world.

2) Have him checked out by the vet. If you care about him that much, it's a small thing to do.

3) Explain "Clint Smith Style Neck Pouch." I'm intrigued.

Thanks and, again, I'm glad this has all worked out.

[randy]

Glad to hear he's home.

[Combat Controller]

Excellent news! Very strange situation there. Either someone saw the ads and took a good look at the house in daylight, they read this forum, or someone's significant others guilt got the better of them. Third option wildcard (very unlikely) since the dog was groggy, it was a medical lab who was going to use it for experiments. It used to be a common practice, I'm not sure if anyone would do that any more but I thought I would put it out there.

Weird that the dog got 'napped in the first place assuming he is a good guard dog, then this... Very strange...

I would file a police report anyway. Perhaps while you are doing it your local dicks can fill you in if they have seen this before or have any clues.