A teenager is urging pet owners to be vigilant after a man attempted to steal one of her dogs before following her home.
Billie Moody, 17, was walking her three pugs in the Gayfield area of Arbroath yesterday morning when she claimed a man walking next to her started acting strangely.
She said: “I noticed he was acting oddly and realised he had reached over to try and un-clip one of our dog’s leads. When that wasn’t successful he followed us home.
“I’m not sure of where he came from or if he was with anyone else.”
© DC Thomson
Worried about the encounter, Billie decided to check outside using her door’s peephole and was shocked to see the man standing there: “When I looked outside he was standing there noting down our door number.
“I made a noise to rattle the door to try and scare him off and he soon disappeared.”
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Billie was so concerned that she asked her dad to come back home to make sure she was safe.
She said: “My dad came back home and told me that someone had been acting suspiciously around the back of my brother’s car earlier in the morning.
“That person matched the description of the man who was worrying me with the dogs.
“Dad came with me to take the dogs out to finish their walk. As we were waking along the street we found an F-shaped piece of plastic not too far from our front door. I’m worried they were attempting to mark the house to come back later.”
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Billie has had pugs as pets for several years. Their eldest dog is three-years-old, another is one, and the youngest is just nine-weeks-old. Billie did not want to reveal the names of the dogs for fear they could be called away by a stranger.
She added: “ I want everyone to be extra vigilant when out with their pets. I’ll no longer be walking my dogs when I’m alone.
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“Why would anyone want to steal a family pet? One of my dog’s has epilepsy and needs specialist care. He could die in the wrong hands.”
In a statement a Police Scotland spokeswoman said officers were called but were unable to investigate due to a lack of evidence.
She said: “Officers in Arbroath received a report of suspicious behaviour by a man in the Millgate Loan area around 8.30am on Thursday September 12.
“Officers attended and, due to the circumstances of this report, advice was given.”
