Film-maker Pauric barking up the right tree with dog theft doc
Organised dog theft in Ireland is on the rise
AROUND the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, families across Ireland began noticing something sinister – strange marks appearing on garden fences and footpaths outside their homes. Days later, their beloved pets would vanish without a trace.
Now, Killeshin filmmaker Pauric Brennan is shining a light on this disturbing trend with his documentary , which explores the rise of organised dog theft in Ireland and the inadequate laws that fail to protect grieving families. His documentary explores a problem that escalated dramatically during the Covid pandemic when criminals exploited soaring demand for companion animals.
“I had come across the story around the beginning of Covid, when people were finding strange marks on their garden fence or on the footpaths outside their house. Then their dogs would go missing,” he recalls. “How could someone be so callous to take a dog? It’s horrible stuff.”
The issue, Pauric argues, is that criminals face little deterrent. While many assume microchipping protects pets, he points out the reality is grimmer.
"A quick internet search will dig up where you can get replacement tags and the equipment to remove tags. If we think we have a good way of doing something, a criminal will have four ways of making it benefit them. It’s as simple as that.”
The real problem, he says, lies in Irish law itself, which classifies stolen pets as property – no different from a garden gnome or television set – failing to recognise their emotional significance to families.
“In the eyes of the law, your pet is a piece of property,” Pauric explains. “It’s the emotional value that’s not taken into account.”
For the documentary, he worked closely with campaigner Lisa O’Connor, who is petitioning to reform Irish laws to better protect families and their pets. The film features interviews with families who have experienced the heartbreak of pet theft, a process Pauric found emotionally draining.
“There are loads of stories out there about dogs being stolen, but the ones we chose to tell in the documentary had a couple of things in common. One was the quickness with which the pet disappeared. And secondly, most of them had actual CCTV footage of the dog being taken,” he says, which makes the cases all the more devastating.
“It’s not knowing where that dog has gone that is the hardest part for them to deal with,” he emphasises.
The documentary aims to raise public awareness and advocate for stronger legislation, citing successful campaigns in the UK as a model for Ireland. To complete the project, Pauric is seeking funding through a GoFundMe campaign, specifically to travel to the UK and interview a key figure who was instrumental in changing the laws there.
Pauric first entered the creative arts more than a decade ago when he stepped onto film sets as a background actor, sporting his signature ‘big beard’ and ‘mad haircuts’ that landed him roles in productions including . He thought he’d found his calling, but after countless auditions and on-camera gigs, he came to a definitive conclusion.
“Do you know what? Being behind the camera is much more fun,” he says with a laugh.
That realisation set the independent filmmaker on a creative journey that has since produced approximately 15 or 16 short films, a feature documentary about Ireland’s independent beer scene, a feature film about the ‘Irish Bigfoot’ shot in Stradbally and even secured him a production deal for a future science fiction project.
“I’ve always been creative and I’ve always been messing around with cameras or writing or trying to direct stage plays and stuff like that, even as a kid,” says Pauric.
After completing a filmmaking course at Filmbase in Dublin, he proved his mettle by creating the feature film on a shoestring budget of €3,000 in eight days. The film made it into distribution, a success that spurred him on.
He hopes will raise awareness about this cruel crime and so enable pet owners to take extra care of their beloved dogs.
“I am hoping the documentary will make people sit up and go, ‘geez, maybe we should do a little bit more to make sure that our family pet is protected’,” he says.
Pauric is looking for financial backers to help him complete the documentary so if you’d like to donate to the cause, you can donate at www.gofundme.com/f/dognapped-needs-your-help-to-finish-it.
