The job: Pet detective - FT.com We investigate all crimes against animals. These might be anything from a dispute over ownership or theft to unlicensed puppy farms or kennels that have killed dogs then told the owners they've run away. Whenever there's a dispute over ownership it'll be messy. You might see a family pet stolen as a bargaining chip in a divorce case, or a dog walker might tell a client the dog has run off, when actually they've stolen it. Some people spend vast amounts of money looking for lost animals - including scouring the countryside in a helicopter. Cases can take a long time to solve. We had a springer spaniel stolen 18 months ago that turned up last week. Our daily rates start from £350 but the price depends on the investigation. We might have to pay surveillance specialists to sit in the woods all night or do DNA testing. Most of our work is dogs. We get cats too, but cats often take themselves on holiday and reappear six months later. We also had an alpaca once. The Pet Detectives was initially part of a general detective agency. We decided to set up a specialised pet agency because the demand was so great. Before that I was a police detective.