New dog theft app that aims to give police a lead

A HENLEY business is biting back against dog theft with the creation of an app designed to protect pet owners and capture evidence that could be used to track thieves.

The Bark Side, a family business selling dog toys, collars and leads, has launched its Howl app for iPhones.

It’s designed to be used should dog thieves try to strike while an owner is taking their pet for a walk. Tapping the app’s ‘Howl’ button three times activates a ‘Howl for Help’, an audible alert then sounds on the user’s iPhone and the camera will start recording so that the dog owner can capture evidence.

The app can also send a text to the user’s emergency contact, showing their location as well as the date and time.

The aim is that the information can be shared with the police to assist any investigation.

Bark Side director, Sara Burney, said she created the app after reading about a labradoodle called Waffle who, in 2019, was stolen from his owner in Cornwall and has never been recovered.

As the owner of a miniature poodle, Brutus, and a former criminal lawyer, Sara decided to act.

“I started thinking about if Brutus was taken,” said Sara. “I’m a pretty streetwise person because I’m a former criminal defence solicitor, so I’m a lot more conscious of risks and vulnerabilities than most people are. So I thought I can do something to change this.

“If Brutus was taken, obviously we’d be devastated, but the thought of him being frightened and alone was just chilling. There are so many dogs who, even if they are found, come back with changed behaviours, illness or injury, and it inspired me to think that prevention is better.

“That became the whole ethos around how the app was developed. Imagine you go out walking with your dog, and someone comes up to you and aggressively demands your dog or, for instance, pulls a knife. If you meet that aggression with aggression, then the situation is going to escalate and there can be unintended consequences which could be absolutely awful. So it’s been developed partly as evidence-gathering for the criminal justice side of things, but also for protecting you and your dog in a non-confrontational way.”

In July 2021, The Kennel Club published data, revealed through Freedom of Information requests, from 27 police forces that showed only two per cent of dog theft cases led to a suspect being charged. In 27 per cent of cases, a suspect was identified but the proceedings went no further due to ‘evidential difficulties’.

“We need to make it easy for the police to investigate these offences,” said Sara. “Because ultimately there’s fewer officers around and they’ve got all these competing priorities.

“Howl is there to try to make it easier to prosecute somebody. To manage a successful prosecution, you need to be able to prove the date, time exact location, and identify the person. It’s all about building up the picture of evidence, and that’s the way that I want to empower people.”