It looks like a Siberian Husky from Clinton, S.C., has a serious case of sticky paws.
Most of the time, Cato is a housedog — spending his lazy days hanging out on the couch and napping. But early Wednesday morning, Cato managed to wriggle free from his leash, says his owner, Holly Darden, something the Husky has done several times before.
“When he runs, I just have to let him go until somebody catches him,” Darden tells FOX Carolina.
Though Darden knew Cato would eventually be captured, she never could have guessed her dog would not only be caught, but also arrested for initiating a crime spree.
This time around, rather than just wandering about town, Cato was caught red-pawed stealing tasty items from a Dollar General store near his home. The handsome Husky was recorded on closed-circuit television nabbing dog food, treats, beef bones, and pig ears from store shelves.
Crafty Cato is shown in the surveillance footage walking through the automatic doors of the dollar store around 9:38 a.m., then bounding through those same doors with his spoils. Staff was initially none the wiser, and the bow-wow bandit was left to bury his loot nearby.
“We didn’t know it happened because he just snuck in with the customers,” Dollar General store manager Anastasia Polson explains.
But when Cato returned to the store twice more that morning to continue his crime spree, employees definitely took notice.
“We had to lock the door to keep him from coming back in,” Polson says of Cato.
Cato’s canine kleptomania landed the clever pooch in hot water with the law. Police even filed a report before taking the four-legged thief into custody. Law enforcement brought Cato to the local pound, where he was soon reunited with a very surprised Darden.
“My dog was shoplifting,” Darden says, giggling in disbelief.
Apparently Cato’s shoplifting is motivated by something other than hunger.
“Look at him, he’s fat,” Darden says of her wily pooch. “Yes! I feed him. There’s food in there. There’s treats in there.”
She is not sure if Cato is a repeat offender, but Dollar General is not the first business Cato has visited while roaming through Clinton, Darden says.
“He’s gotten into Ingles,” a local grocery store, Darden explains. “He’s gotten into BI-LO. He goes to Pizza Hut. And he goes up to Yo Cup which is downtown too.”
Needless to say, it looks like Cato will be under house arrest for some time.
Source: FOX Carolina
