<P> By the mid-1960s, calls were being made for laws to prevent dognapping . The United States Congress was already working on legislation to restrict the handling and sale of animals for research when a pet Dalmatian was taken in Pennsylvania during June 1965, and ten days later a Dalmatian was reported to have died during experimental heart surgery in a New York hospital . The dog was thought to be the same animal as it was traced to a farm which supplied two Dalmatians to that hospital, but by the time it was discovered that the dogs were delivered directly to the hospital and not the farm, the dog's corpse had been cremated . This incident started a series of events which led to Congress discussing the matter . The two senators who led the drive for a new law were Joseph S. Clark and Joseph Resnick . </P> <P> Opponents to the bill argued that very few research animals were stolen, while Clark argued that it was natural to make dognapping a federal crime as it was already illegal to transport stolen cars and cattle across state lines . The American Humane Society presented evidence of dog theft rings in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York; and another witness stated that boys were being paid $2 for each dog they delivered to a dealer . </P> <P> Medical research organisations sought to change the bill by removing references to animals other than cats or dogs, saying that: "It would impose a well - nigh impossible burden to regulate traffic in fish, frogs, turtles, reptiles, birds and the many other mammalian forms used in laboratories ." The senate was reported to have received more mail on the dognapping bill than on bills related to the Civil Rights Movement or the Vietnam War . During its introduction the bill was known as "The dognapping law"; once introduced, it became the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 . </P> <P> After the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act in 1966, the trade in dognapping simply moved on to other revenue sources . Pet shops were found to be purchasing stolen dogs, and some laboratories were found to be continuing to accept them . Newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times ran articles advising readers on how to prevent their dogs from being stolen . </P>

Is it a crime to steal a dog