The mother of a stolen poodle has spoken of the vile late night calls she receives threatening to chop her beloved dog “into little pieces”.
The family of Smalia, a red toy poodle, have said they will “never give up” looking for her despite the police closing their case.
CCTV captured the moment nine-month-old Smalia was wrapped in a coat and bundled into a grey saloon by a thief wearing a face mask and baseball cap.
The dognappers struck moments after her owner Gintare Bajalyte, 36, had parked her shop’s delivery van in a cash-and-carry car park in Eley Road, Edmonton on March 30.
Now a month later she has said she receives sick phone calls the middle of the night as she said some demand £2,000 or they are going to cut Smalia into pieces and bury her in the garden.
The threats have left her scared for her family and especially daughter Tia, 11, who she has banned from going out alone with friends for fear of another kidnap attempt.
Ms Bajalyte told the Standard: “It is scary. Tia is becoming scared of everything.
“Last time they called me they said they were going to cut my dog into little pieces. I said to them ‘are you mentally ill?’ and offered to drive them to the hospital.
“I said god bless you and they hung up it was the last conversation we had. I honestly don’t know if they have her or not. Whenever I see an unrecognised number I think it’s someone who has her.
“On one hand I really believe they have her but on the other hand I just don’t know.”
She added: “I will never stop looking. The threats makes my feeling even stronger to get Smalia home.”
A week after the theft she claimed police told her they were closing the case due to a lack of evidence.
Ms Bajalyte said: “We provided the police with a car registration I asked if they checked it out. But they said they don’t have enough evidence to knock on doors.
“It was so tough to hear they were closing the case. I cried for hours. It is only people on Facebook and our friends that help us look for her.”
Dog thefts in the UK have now hit a seven-year high as London was revealed to be the worst hit area.
As many as 2,760 dogs were stolen last year, figures compiled by Direct Line Pet Insurance show, a 16 per cent since rise since 2015.
