‘I could work every day of the week’: the life of a UK pet detective as thefts rise
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Colin Butcher and his dog Molly are increasingly in demand as bereft owners hunt for missing cats and dogs. On a chilly December morning, Colin Butcher and his dog, Molly, are on the streets of Haywards Heath in West Sussex. But Molly is not out for a walk – instead she is hard at work trying to track down a missing cat.
![[Molly sniffing a tissue that is inside a jar]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/82ce7a04bab22de7b724e9ffc812b25890599e18/0_371_5568_3341/master/5568.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Pet theft is on the rise across the UK. Data from the insurer Direct Line suggested dog thefts had increased by 6% between 2022 and 2023, with English and French bulldogs – regularly sold for about £3,000 – among the most frequently targeted breeds.
![[Gill Ross putting a missing cat poster on the side of a wooden structure]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/63989b6d5709da20a81e964ca6278cb4cc37ce4f/0_206_5568_3341/master/5568.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Separate data from Petlog, one of the UK’s largest lost and found pet databases, revealed that almost 5,000 dogs and more than 20,000 cats were reported missing between January 2023 and June 2024. And while pet theft is booming, so too is the pet recovery industry, with bereft owners increasingly turning to specialists to help reunite them with their missing animals. Some recruit the services of volunteers, while others will pay hundreds of pound for professionals such as Butcher, an ex-Scotland Yard detective, to hunt for their lost or stolen pets.
![[Becky Taylor kneels to stroke Hazel, as Pudding, another dog, sits on her lap]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c64d01fb8f704006ae3f7640d2f6e28da71cb7da/0_274_5568_3341/master/5568.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Some detectives – amateur and professional – use an arsenal of the latest technology, including thermal imaging drones and cellular outdoor cameras. But Butcher relies on old-fashioned detective work and his 10-year-old working cocker spaniel. Together, the pair have recovered hundreds of pets.
![[Molly sniffs the bottom of a garage door on a row of garages as Butcher walks alongside]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/244f058b2243251c4281e84d6266c646855b7756/0_53_5568_3341/master/5568.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“I could work every single day of the week and every weekend there’s so much demand right across the board,” he said. “I probably get about on average 15 emails or calls just on missing cats every single week, a busy week might be as many as 30.”.
