from the mind of an ex-theif..

I have never had any animal stolen from me. I have no experince in stealing animals, but i am an X-theif and i can tell you somethings to prevent.

1.DISTRACTIONS. If a group of people walk into a store and only one of them comes up to you and the others disappear or seem to be located in another area of your store, dont let your "no not these type of people" theories go into play, watch them all. Never lose sight and try to assist your customer in an area were there all together, make it a point to non-chalntly look at the other customers, watch for the customer your helping tyrin to make it so your back is to them, cause were quick when we want to be, and even quicker and better when we know every second counts.
If you are running a stand at a show and you notice this its a bit harder and were very aware of that, especially if we dont aproch u in a group. This is why you MUST MUST buy a small camera with a montior and have someone watching it at all times. its pricy, but how pricy is it to that rare albino boa you have? ALWAYS ALWAYS assume people are up to something, but never let on you think that. be kind and courterous and watchful of everything.

For the people who are suffering break ins, heres advice but i never did a break in whewn i was a kid so this is all just theory.

1.Alarm systems, but quiet ones. remember i told you were quick when we want to be, but quicker when every MICROsecond counts. Have the alarms rigged to your house as well.

2. Alarms to pricy? want more then the alarm? buy one of those micro cameras and place it in the room with NO ONE ELSE KNOWING IT EXISITS, NO EMPLOYES OR NOTHING. they cost around 80 bucks and the video feed can be made to go right to your home computer.

3. Drastic as it may be, bars on the windows. Not a crappy little metal screen, bars on the windows. it would take a hell of a lot of work to get through them.

I dont knwo how helpful you may find this, but i hope it helps somewhat

You're courageous to admit flat out that you used to steal...I'm awstruck! Thank you for being so bold!!

It's always helpful to know what kind of tricks thieves use. If you have any more ideas you'd like to put forth, please do.

Originally posted by Sybella
You're courageous to admit flat out that you used to steal...I'm awstruck! Thank you for being so bold!!

It's always helpful to know what kind of tricks thieves use. If you have any more ideas you'd like to put forth, please do.

Now all we need is for someone to write a helpfuul post like this:


"From the mind of an ex-murderer"

"How to avoid being murdered,......"


(he he,... I couldn't help my sick self)

Awwh! C'mon...you can see the benefit of this, can't you?? LOL!! Just take a look at the BOI and look at the threads on pet stores that have been robbed and then think about it. If we know what to look for, we can stop this, right?


But, back on the murder thing...OJ's next book? LOL!

Originally posted by Sybella
But, back on the murder thing...OJ's next book? LOL!

OJ? (lol) Nah, he was sloppy and impulsive. He was just damn lucky that he had the right jury and 50 mill for a dream team defense. He may have been a pro in football, but it was amatuer night at Nicole's that evening.

A lot of this is common sense, but definately worth having written out!

When I do shows, the heaviest and lowest priced items are the ones closest to the customer side of the table. I keep items stacked in shelves, both to maximize space and so I can be aware of people moving to reach for items.

Do you do the White Plains show? I'd assume so, being so close. Do you have a banner, or specific banner name for your company. I'll have to check out your stock next white plains.
I love checking out peoples stock, especially if I know the person, or have atleast heard of them, or made small talk with them.
Good way for me to let people know that you have healthy stuff.

I used to own a retail pet store and a sport shop. Catching theives is hard to do. When you do catch one do not cut them any slack what so ever. Prosecute to the fullest. If you go easy on 1 theif you will be the prime target of many. If you prosecute to the fullest the word gets around and they will back off and move on to easier targets. Brian an 18 year old boy that worked for me under a community service program found out the hard way that I don't mess around when it comes to theft. He and his buddy decided to break in to the store and rob it one night. Being stupid as most theives are he was quickly caught and spent his senior year of high school in the county jail. In spite of his mommies plea for me to cut him some slack I pushed for him to be made an example of for the other wanna be gangsters to see. It did not take long for that to get around to the other would be theives and they knew that I would gladly put them in the next cell if they were dumb enough to cross me. Always maintain a base of good neiborhood kids you can trust and treat them well and they will be your eyes and ears and will let you know who to watch out for. A little simple psycology goes a long way toward limiting your losses. Tell the neighborhood kids when you are loosing things to theft and tell them that if it continues you are going to have to close shop and do something else as you can't afford to be robbed. The last thing any kid wants is their favorite pet store going out of business. You would be amazed at how much they can find out for you. When you get information forward it to the police and have the alledged theif questioned. They and other theives will know you are having them investigated and will shy away from hitting you again.

I thought it was thief? Must have never stolen a dictionary............

Defenitly uncalled for John.
I mean seriously, just infering you should steal a dictionary is horrible.
What a waste of valueable pocket space LOL.
Good tips on how to see your shop be kept safe.