One of the dogs was found trying to cross the A34 dual carriageway

A greyhound trainer has said she believes three dogs stolen from her Oxfordshire kennels were taken for illegal hare coursing.

The animals were taken on Monday night. One was found on Tuesday morning with cuts on its legs and a muddy body.

Katherine Taylor, from Winaway Kennels, said: “These dogs aren’t trained to course, they make them do it until they’re exhausted, it’s beyond belief.”

Thames Valley police are investigating the incident.

They’re like our friends, our children, they mean everything to us Katherine Taylor

A second dog was found on Tuesday evening and returned to the kennels in Harwell.

It was picked up by a horse trainer as it tried to cross the A34 dual carriageway near East Ilsley.

“They’re like our friends, our children, they mean everything to us,” said Ms Taylor.

“It’s a feeling of devastation, you can’t believe it’s happened to you, you feel so useless that you can’t find them, you can’t get them.”

Better security

Since the break-in, Ms Taylor and her partner have been sleeping in the office at the kennels that has CCTV and a burglar alarm.

“We’ll sleep here until everything’s sorted, we’ll never let this happen again,” she said.

“My partner’s trying to organise better security and finding out the cost.

“We can get money for this from a fund from the greyhound racing industry.”

The kennels is home to 50 dogs that are trained for racing at the Oxford Greyhound Stadium.

During September Thames Valley Police have been running Operation Migrate to try to stop hare coursing in South Oxfordshire.

The dogs died at the police headquarters at Sherwood Lodge

A police dog handler accused of leaving two of his German Shepherds to die in his car was “too ill” to attend his first court hearing in Nottingham.

Pc Mark Johnson faces one charge of causing unnecessary suffering after he allegedly left the police dogs in the back of his car on 30 June.

The 40-year-old did not attend the short hearing in Nottingham earlier.

The deaths happened on one of the hottest days of the year, when temperatures reached 29.3C (84.7F).

Dog championship

Mr Johnson was represented at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court by his solicitor and a member of the Police Federation.

The defendant is accused of leaving his dogs, 10-year-old Jet and 18-month-old Jay-Jay, to die after he went in to Nottinghamshire Police’s headquarters in Arnold.

The prosecution is being brought by the RSPCA, which accuses Mr Johnson of “unnecessarily confining them [his dogs] in an environment that was detrimental to their well-being”.

It is understood that Jet came third at last year’s National Police Dog Championship and Jay-Jay was being trained to replace the older dog

An average of 32 stray dogs are picked up per day in London

The number of stray dogs on London streets has risen by 64% over the past year, a charity has found.

The Dogs Trust said 11,763 stray dogs were picked up in the capital in the year to March. The number of stray dogs across the UK rose by 11% to 107,228.

It blamed the rise on the recession but said the fact that strays are now reported directly to councils rather than to the police was also a factor.

The charity wants the microchipping of dogs to become compulsory.

London councils picked up an average of 32 stray dogs per day from April 2008 to March 2009, the Dogs Trust said.

During that time, 262 stray London dogs were put to sleep for want of a home.

Since 2008 police in England and Wales are no longer responsible for stray dogs.

The charity said this was a factor in the sudden rise, as stray dogs are now immediately taken to council offices and recorded.

In the past dogs were taken to police stations, where there owners may have collected them before being recorded.

The Dogs Trust wants the government to make it a legal requirement for owners to have a microchip inserted under their dog’s skin.

This will enable lost or stray dogs to be easily identified and reunited promptly with their owners, it said.

Dogs Trust chief executive Clarissa Baldwin said: “Microchipping is an essential part of being a responsible dog owner and has helped so many people become reunited with their beloved pets.”

Two men have been told they face jail terms after admitting being involved in a dog-fighting ring, which was exposed by an RSPCA investigation.

Gary Adamson, 38, from North Yorkshire, admitted six charges and Kenneth King, 35, from Newark, Notts, admitted eight.

At Lincoln Crown Court, they were told prison sentences were a certainty due to the seriousness of their offences. Both will be sentenced on 25 September.

The charges faced included taking part or being present at dog fights.

Custody ‘starting point’

District Judge Richard Blake told Adamson, of Ramsey Crescent, Yarm, and King, of Main Street, Ragnall: “You have entered pleas to serious matters and you can be under no illusions as to the gravity of your situation.

“Clearly my starting point has got to be custody.”

Christopher Burgess, 42, of Longstone Way, Ladybrook, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, who admitted keeping a banned dog, was told he would probably get a community sentence.

He will be sentenced along with Adamson and King.

Animal suffering

On Tuesday the trial is due to begin of three people who deny being part of the same ring.

A woman, a man and a youth face charges of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and possessing training equipment for dog-fighting.

Claire Parker, 44, of Kexby Lane, Kexby, Lincolnshire, faces three charges in connection with dog-fighting, while Mohammed Farooq, 33, of Daniels Road, Bordesley Green, Birmingham, is accused of five charges related to the ring.

A 17-year-old youth, who also admitted keeping a banned animal and who cannot be named for legal reasons, faces three charges connected to illegal dog-fighting.