A terrified dog owner believes she foiled dog thieves as they prepared to steal her family pets.
The Broughty Ferry resident, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions, said she was getting changed when she saw a man walk down her path and “lay a white marking”.
Suspicious, and with her two cross-breed dogs increasingly becoming agitated, the whistle-blower left her house to question the man when he fled.
She has been left convinced she was seconds away from becoming a victim of dog theft.
She said: “My street isn’t a street many people drive down, but the guy in the Land Rover swerved in and just unlocked my gate.
“He must have seen my dogs at the window and they started to bark when he came up the path.
“I went out to see what he wanted, but by the time I got out he was back in his car.
“I’m quite aware of what has been happening in Dundee lately. It’s left me really paranoid.”
The concerned owner added: “Every time I hear a car I can’t sit down.
“We’ve got new padlocks today to make sure no one can get in the gate.
“We’re all hearing more and more stories about this type of thing.”
Linda Quinn, manager of the Dundee Missing Pets Facebook page, said she has been made aware of multiple suspected dog thefts.
She said: “What on earth is going on?
“We’re hearing things left, right and centre.
“This post has had 72,000 views and has been shared 1500 times. It shows that people really are worried.
“In this day and age you can’t let your dog out for a wee run for fear of it getting lifted. That’s what seems to be happening now.
“The good thing is that the public are using the page to alert each other to what is going on.”
The troubling news comes just weeks after the theft of eight month-old Border Terrier puppy, Rosco, who was stolen from 82-year-old Leonard Ormond’s garden.
The Courier revealed last week that volunteers believe they have made a breakthrough in tracking Rosco’s alleged abductor down.
Campaigners posted an online warning to the man they believe responsible for the incident and now hope he will hand Rosco back.