Police would like you to be aware of the following suspicious circumstances.
On Saturday 7 November in Swanage, a man described to be in his early 20s with short brown hair and wearing blue tracksuit bottoms, a blue jumper and a body warmer was seen to go into a garden and place a bowl of food on the floor in order to entice the dog over. The man was then seen to pick the family dog up and attempt to walk off with it. He was challenged and left the dog in the garden.
Previously to this, there has been a report of a similar incident in the Winterbourne Valley area of Dorchester. A grey VW Transporter van with a foreign number plate has been spotted acting suspiciously around dogs and their owners.
Please be alert to these incidents and keep your dogs safe.