‘I’m feline so glad I called Rob, he saved my stuck Lulu’
including countries as far apart as the United States, Dubai and South Africa.
He says: “The stuff we do is very high tech and very thorough, nothing is left to chance. It’s very specialised work, and because you’re dealing with animals not humans there’s obviously no vocal contact. You’re also dealing with a very distraught owner. A lot of people who come to work for my company find it too emotionally stressful.
“We use surveillance cameras, DNA forensics to detect the pet’s blood, bionic ears and night vision to see through obstacles in the dark.
“The investigation starts the moment I get a call. And years of experience means I can quickly work out if the pet’s been stolen to order, and the chances of recovery.
“We often have an idea of who might have taken it too, we know who the potential suspects are around the UK and immediately begin surveillance.”
Rob adds: “Most people never think that they might have their dog stolen. If you don’t mind your pet like you mind your wallet or your handbag — or your own children — it’s not going to be there tomorrow.”
GERDA was devastated she went out for a few hours in June and came to back to find her rare Scottish Fold cat Lulu was missing.
Finding a window open, at her house in Westmeath, she suspected the pet, who is a strictly indoor cat, had been stolen. She put posters up and asked neighbours if they’d seen her, but with no sighting after five days she decided to call on pet detective Rob.
Gerda says: “Lulu never leaves the house, she’s reluctant to even go into the back garden, so I knew something bad had happened to her.
“I was so upset I didn’t even show up to work the next day, I was bawling myself to sleep every night.
Relief
“My boyfriend looked online and found Rob. I had no idea that pet detectives were a thing, so it was a relief when he turned up with his equipment the next day. First of all, he wanted to know everything about Lulu, his likes and dislikes, his character.”
As he began the search, Rob first knocked on a neighbour’s house, but he said he had already checked and Lula wasn’t there.
But convinced he would find him, he later returned to the house and insisted he had a look.
Gerda says: “Rob found Lulu stuck between the shed and a fence, the poor thing was so scared.
“I couldn’t believe it when he turned up with Lulu in his arms, I burst into tears.
“He’d already deduced that she hadn’t been stolen, and knew that indoor cats rarely go further than three houses away.
“Lulu was trapped and wouldn’t have been able to get home. I’m so glad I called him.”