Ms Lisa O'Connor:

Currently, there is no real deterrent for these thieves. That is why I suggested going down the route of England and Northern Ireland, where it is recorded as a pet abduction, not just the theft of an object. When people come to me or my group and say their dog is missing or stolen, the first thing I tell them is to go to their local Garda station, report it and get a crime reference number and to contact the microchip company and get the chip flagged as missing or stolen. If the dog is then picked up or if someone tries to sell the dog and the chip is scanned, it will be seen that the dog has been registered as stolen.