38 Your Dog March 2020
It may be a modern word, but
‘dognapping’ is far from being
a modern crime; it’s been going on
for hundreds of years, says Karen Bush.
“Given the run of the royal palaces, they
toileted everywhere...”
The fi rst known usage of the word
‘dognapping’ dates back to 1897
when a US newspaper printed an
article on how to keep pets safe from
the clutches of thieves.DOGNAPPING
THROUGH THE AGES
HENRY VIII
Henry owned two favourite dogs, Cutte and
Ball. Both wore opulent collars of velvet and
cloth of gold, decorated with scallop shells,
roses, and pomegranates, as well as having
the King’s initials embroidered on them, just
in case anyone was in any doubt as to their
ownership. When Cutte went missing, Henry
rewarded the fi nder with 10 shillings (the
equivalent of around £300 today); when Ball
also disappeared in Waltham Forest soon
after, fi ve shillings was duly paid out. Cutte
vanished again a year later, and the ‘poure
woman’ who returned him was given four
shillings and eightpence. Although they
were said to have strayed rather than been
abducted, the generous rewards may well
have been responsible for putting ideas in
a few heads.
KING JAMES I
Certainly by the time James I came to the
English throne, dognapping was on the
agenda with his disgruntled subjects.
A keen huntsman, he forbade farmers to
plough land the hunt might pass over;
pigs were to be confi ned, and he ordered
obstacles such as fences, hedging, and
walls to be dismantled. The hunters
often caused damage to crops, gardens,
and animals — and on top of all that,
commoners were expected to lend
a hand, and local farmers to provide food
and drink for the royal party.
When attempts to recover expenses
were ignored, a plot was hatched and
James’ favourite hound, Jowler, was
seized. On realising that Jowler was
missing, the King ‘was much displeased’
but nevertheless continued his planned
hunting. To his delight, the next day
Jowler reappeared among the other
hounds. Tied around his neck was a letter
which read: ‘Good Mr Jowler, we pray you
speak to the King (for he hears you every
day, and so doth he not us) that it will
please his Majesty to go back to London,
for else the country will be undone. All
our provision is spent already, and we
are not able to entertain him longer.’
Rather than taking note, James viewed
it as a joke and, to the fury of the locals,
carried on hunting in the area for
another fortnight.CHARLES II
Charles II inherited his father’s love of dogs;
the little spaniels he was especially fond of
were named after him. Given the run of the
royal palaces, they toileted everywhere, and
a litter of puppies was even born on the royal
bed, until, as diarist John Evelyn observed:
“the whole court was nasty and stinking”.
Charles preferred to play with his pets than
attend to his counsellors, and was often
to be found with them early in the morning
in St James’ Park. Royal hairdressers
attended to their coiff ure, and they thrived
on a diet of dove breasts, venison, and
grain-fattened beef.
With such an adoring — and more
importantly — wealthy owner, Charles’ dogs
became a tempting target for dognappers,
and they were constantly being stolen.
One advert in 1660 read: “We must call