WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. — Scott Caudill, the Grant County K-9 control officer, said Friday 35 large dogs — chow mixes, Labrador retrievers, boxers, German shepherds — have been stolen since December.

        He's pretty sure why they're being taken.

        “I think it's pit bull fighting,” Mr. Caudill said Friday. “It's pretty obvious. (The dogs are) there one day, gone the next.”

        Mr. Caudill cannot pin down a fight site, but he thinks it's in Grant County for one other reason.

        “A high number of people are coming here wanting to adopt pit bulls, 20-25 people” since December, he said.

        Mr. Caudill said other breeds are taken because they can sometimes be trained to be mean enough to fight. He said the only clues are that two vehicles, a silver van and a black van, have been spotted near where thefts have occurred.

        Similar increases in canine thefts have been noted in neighboring Pendleton, Owen and Gallatin county communities. Pendleton County Animal Control Officer Ann Wilson told theLouisville Courier-Journal that 30 dogs have been reported stolen since Jan. 1, twice the normal number.

        Animal control officials in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties, meanwhile, have not seen increases in thefts of large dogs.

        Beckey Reiter, executive director of the Boone County Animal Care and Control shelter in Burlington, said there have been a couple of isolated reports of a white van. But she said most of the missing dogs in her county are smaller, such as hounds or beagles.

        “There's no pattern,” Ms. Reiter said Friday.

        Kenton County Animal Shelter Director Aline Summe said there have not been significant reports of canine thefts. But she thinks people still steal animals for research or breeding purposes.

        “There are markets elsewhere in Kentucky,” Ms. Summe said. “Most of them are not highly advertised.”

        So why are Owen, Pendleton, Grant and Gallatin counties the targets? Campbell County Animal Shelter Director Lisa Jackson said it may be because animal shelters there are either new or sparsely staffed compared with those in Kenton, Campbell and Boone counties.

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