Dog Adventure Company and Paddocks in Doddington broken into as owners are forced to cancel annual Santa Paws event
More than £10,000 worth of stock was stolen from a dog business, which forced the owner to cancel a popular Christmas event.
Dog Adventure Company and Paddocks – on Lincoln Road, Doddington – was broken into on Friday (December 15) and the thieves defecated inside the building after stealing a host of items.
The Santa Paws event often attracts about 500 dogs and owners – but the seven-year-old event was cancelled for the first time as a result of the break-in.
The two-day event, which was meant to have taken place over the past weekend (December 16 and 17), but the owner of 16 years, Steve Breach, admitted to not having enough stock, time or energy to run the event.
On Friday morning, Steve was informed by a customer that the stables at the site had been broken into.
“They have taken all the Santa Paws presents, my Santa suit, the stock for the Dog Adventure Shop and some other stuff.
“Worse yet, they decided to defecate inside the building and pull down storage.
“Also a big problem is money. I spend all the ticket money on decorations, presents and event setup to improve it every year and this year I have nothing to show for it thanks to some people who think they can take things from others.”
The owner said he doesn’t have the money to refund anyone for the tickets. However, he will give people equivalent vouchers to use for paddock hire, socialisation and training.
He added: “I don’t think the insurance is going to cover the stock loss as the insured premises for the stock was the main shop and I never included it for the paddocks so I’m definitely £12,000 out of stock.”
Charlotte Freeth has set up a GoFundMe page to support the owner in recovering some of the money lost after the break in.
She said: “The Dog Adventure Company community would like to try and help Steve recover some of the money he has lost from this heartless break in to help support this fantastic local business that is loved by many.”
The shop owner announced that he had to remove the online shop from the website as much of the stock was stolen and he will focus on selling the products he has left.
Steve added: “It is awful and this is not the best time as we are coming up to Christmas.
“I am genuinely very disappointed that the customers and their dogs can’t come down to the event and couldn’t have those joyful memories for their dogs.”
The case has been reported to Lincolnshire Police and anyone with information on the crime is asked to call 101. People are especially asked to look out for those trying to sell a lot of harnesses, collars, toys, treats and other dog-related products.
