Among the many fun random facts you can find in the Detective Magazines is the range of specialties practiced by the world’s criminals at the turn of the 20^th century. The June 1901 issue (linked HERE) spotlighted a few, including a man that specialized in the theft of canaries “incautiously hung by owners on sunny mornings.” The thief never took cages and was said to be “the best judge in England of a pedigree prize-winner.”

Others targeted opera glasses left on the back of high priced theater seats, ladders left overnight at construction sites and even fancy door mats welcoming guests to luxury homes.

Dog stealing was also apparently a known specialty followed by comparatively small and select gangs of “professionals.”

According to CrimeReads, dognappers in London followed wealthy dog owners and used drugged meat or other treats to lure the canines away. Others likely snatched them outright and ran. Some then demanded ransom to return a beloved family pet while others simply held on to the dogs until a reward was offered and returned the pooch to collect. Apparently folks in the 1800s loved their mutts as much as they do today as according the article, dognapping was a 4,000 pound or approximately $600,000 US$ industry.