A litter of newly born puppies was stolen from the home of a Kamloops dog breeder after she passed away suddenly, almost two weeks ago. Two families who had purchased a puppy before her death are now out thousands of dollars.
Katy Gartner and her family in Penticton were thrilled to be getting a dog. They researched breeds and breeders until finally deciding on an Alapaha Blue Blooded Bulldog from the Kamloops breeder. They had named him ‘Gator.’
Gartner says they paid the full price of $3,000 for the dog but weren’t able to take him home before he and his litter-mates went missing.
Instead, they got a message saying the dog breeder, 33-year-old Dainya Watson had died suddenly and the whole litter, eight six-week-old puppies, were gone.
“We got in touch with the roommates she lived with who had possession of the puppies when she passed,” said Kearston Burton-Weatherhead, Dainya Watson’s sister.
“They let us know that they had been stolen within an hour of medical personnel and RCMP leaving the scene.”
The roommates told Burton-Weatherhead that someone had stolen the puppies through the side gate of the yard. However, she says the story sounded “off.”
“I found the gate that they were apparently taken from and there was three-feet high of grass, there was no way that someone was able to get in and out without some kind of path being made,” said Burton-Weatherhead.
“It just didn’t make sense to me or my family.”
Besides filling a police report, Watson’s sister also put up a number of posts on social media platforms that have been shared thousands of times.
“These dogs are worth anywhere between $2,500 and $4,500,” said Burton-Weatherhead.
“So I’m sure the people that took them had the intention of selling them and making a quick buck.”
Katy Gartner is concerned about the safety and well-being of all the puppies that have allegedly been stolen, but she can’t help but focus on the one that already won her heart, the one she was expected to take home.
“We picked Gator. As soon as I saw him, I was like ‘that’s my dog’. This is just hard,” said Gartner.
Anyone who might have information about the puppies is asked to contact the Kamloops RCMP Detachment.