Furry thief makes clean getaway

Could this be the culprit?  - copyright 2008, SWC photo

There is a lot of news about theft and vandalism this time of year, and this year seems worse than normal.  The holidays bring out the giver in us all, but unfortunately some people don't mind taking what's not theirs from someone they don't know in order to give to someone they do, and the tighter economy just seems to have made holiday taking a bit worse this year.

Which is why it's not astonishing that a grocery store camera caught a culprit making off with a tasty item that he didn't pay for.  The astonishing part was the thief:  he has four feet and a furry tail!

Full disclosure here...this reporter has owned this breed of dog for over 30 years, and can tell you that nothing on the surveillance video surprises me.

Roger Adamson, the manager of the Fresh Value grocery store in Murray, Utah, quipped, "I've never seen him shop in here before; brand new customer, didn't even have a Fresh Value card."

Not that it would have changed much...the thief's only stop near the checkout aisle was to check out a young girl.  He sniffed her, then hot-footed it straight to the dog food aisle, grabbed a rawhide bone and made a clean getaway.

Even when confronted by the manager, this grey and white bandit didn't flinch.  Told to drop the contraband, the dog just quickened his pace and trotted out the front door.

To see the surveillance video and the reporters trying to keep a straight face on this story, go to the KSL website.

So far, there's no report of who might own the dog, and although half the town has been looking for him, there have been no reported sightings since the great grocery store heist.