Exclusive figures obtained from Merseyside Police show 48 reports of dogs being taken in 2020.
That was the same number as in 2019.
Campaigners are calling for dog theft to be made a specific crime - currently dogs are treated like any other stolen object, which means recording thefts can be patchy.
The figures obtained by Teamdogs.co.uk following a Freedom of Information request show only five of the dogs stolen in 2020 were recorded as recovered.
Out of 239 reports in five years, just eight saw dogs recovered - although this information may not be fully recorded by the police force.
It was also rare for anyone to face consequences for stealing a dog.
Out of the 48 crimes recorded in Merseyside in 2020, 27 were closed with no suspect identified.
In the past five years, dog thefts have led to no charges, with difficulties with evidence stopping many of the other cases from proceeding.
Two-fifths of dogs were taken by someone the owner knew - such as ex-partners or by friends and relatives who were supposed to be looking after the pet.
The most common location for dog thefts, at 43%, was from the home, with gardens coming second at 18%.
One in 12 dogs (8%) were taken from a park or open space or from the street. In July last year, a dog was stolen in Merseyside by a delivery driver working for one of the national companies.
Over the past five years, the dog most commonly reported stolen was a French Bulldog (six) and Staffordshire Bull Terrier (six).
Nationally, the heartbreaking figures suggest only one in four stolen dogs are ever recovered.
Only 23 per cent of 1,699 pets snatched in 2020 were reunited with their devastated owners, according to figures from all of the police forces that responded to the FOI.
And disturbingly only a fraction of cases led to someone facing justice, with just 48 crimes prosecuted - or 3% of the 1,492 crimes that had an outcome recorded.
More than half of reported dog thefts (51%) in 2020 were closed without a suspect being identified (756 out 1,492 with recorded outcomes)
French Bulldogs and Staffordshire Bull Terriers were the most popular targets for twisted dog thieves.
According to the results of the Freedom of Information requests sent to police forces across England and Wales, the regions with the highest dog thefts are London, West Yorkshire and Kent.
Meanwhile, Direct Line figures for stolen dogs estimated 2,438 dogs had been taken across the UK in 2020.
But dog campaigners fear the true horror of dog theft has yet to be revealed as the crime is listed by police in the same way as they would a stolen garden gnome.
They also believe dog theft is under-reported, as the public think police forces won't take it seriously and help them get their dog back.
Bruce Forsyth's eldest daughter Debbie Matthews has been campaigning for a change in the law, after her two terriers were stolen from her car in 2006.
She said: "I was lucky. Because of my father I got them back. We did a live appeal on GMTV and both dogs had been sold on."
Debbie, 65, added: “Dogs are priceless, irreplaceable members of our families and deserve to be treated with respect.
"We want dog theft made a specific crime in its own right. If they can do it for bicycles, they can do it for dogs!
"All the figures are desperately sad and just show you we need the Government to step in and help the public.
"It's got to another level now.
"We've all been talking about it for so long. People are afraid to walk with their dogs, afraid to talk about their dogs or share photographs of them.
"That shouldn't be, that's one of the joys we have."
The 1,699 thefts of dogs in 2020 reported to the police forces across England, Wales and Northern Ireland who responded to the FOI was very similar to the 1,707 reported in 2019.
Former Detective Inspector, Mark Randell, from Stolen and Missing Pets Alliance, who has a background in crime analysis, is also campaigning for a change in the law.
He said: "Dog theft needs to be recorded as a specific crime by every police force."
He said at the moment dog theft comes under 'theft other', which can include anything from wheelbarrows to a garden gnome.
"The first thing you need is the correct data so you can look at crime hotspots and can tackle it as one crime problem," he said.
"At the moment we are relying on unreliable figures.
"If it is listed as a specific crime we can then look at crime hotspots and national trends.
"Quite clearly dog theft is a big issue and it is quite clearly under reported.
"Sometimes people don't report crimes because they don't think anything is going to be done about it.
"They don't think the police will help and until recently they probably haven't."
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