Dognapping is not a recent development, with reports of dogs being held by ransom since the 1930s.

Dognapping is the crime of taking a dog from its owner with the intention of demanding a ransom.

Kramer's involvement in the dognapping worries him.

She keeps Lika close, not only to avoid offending people, but because the poodle was the victim of a dognapping.

In the 111th episode titled "The Engagement", evidence of dognapping leads back to Newman who answers the door quoting Berkowitz with "What took you so long?"

Dognapping: The crime of taking a canine from its owner, which usually occurs in purebred dogs, the profit from which can run up to thousands of dollars.

"I believe there was a lot of premeditation involved in her dognapping, and therefore it is most likely the work of someone who has something personal against you," Andy told her.

In 1961, Disney also produced the full-length film 101 Dalmatians which detailed Cruella de Vil's botched dognapping of Pongo and Perdita's puppies.

Dognapping has evolved over the years, with one method now used by prospective criminals being to respond to adverts placed on the Internet selling puppies and entering family homes posing as purchasers to view the dogs before stealing them under threat of violence.

By July of the same year, what was considered by the press to be Chicago's first case of dognapping was solved with the return of a Boston Terrier named Kids Boot Ace, who had been missing for five months.

The ingenious and brutal black comedy of Irish playwright and film-maker Martin McDonagh's In Bruges resurrected the career of Colin Farrell; this year the pair are reunited for a tale of writer's block and a dognapping gone wrong (Dec).