Just when you think you've heard it all, comes word that a sophisticated dog theft ring has surfaced in Illinois.

What's happening is that two men are driving around in a white pick-up truck, and are posing as animal control officers, and are attempting to steal purebred breeds. According to a report by KMOV-TV, the thefts have taken place in Perry, Randolph and Washington counties in downstate Illinois.

Here's how it works, the men drive around in a white truck that says "animal control" on the side, during daylight hours, looking for dogs, then come back at night and steal the dogs, often from the owner's backyards. Shortly thereafter, they sell the animals for cash.

To date, there have been no reports of any incidents in the Stateline area, yet, but residents need to be on alert, nonetheless.

It's pretty to scary to think that if you leave your dog unattended in your backyard, your dog could be stolen while you are inside.

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