Old dog picks up a new trick
A thief, who clearly enjoys a good read, has turned out to be an ageing labrador
For the last four or five weeks Kelson resident Daniel Bowbyes has been waking up to find his Dominion Post missing from his driveway.
The thief was striking under the cover of darkness and he suspected it may have been one of his neighbours out for a walk in the Lower Hutt hillside suburb.
Determined to catch the culprit, he came up with a cunning plan.
‘‘Being in IT, I had spent far too much on a video camera. I had all these theories about old blokes walking in the morning and stealing my paper.’’
He got the surprise of his life when the newly installed camera revealed it was a neighbour, but not one with two legs.
The video shows the thief relied not on speed but the cover of darkness to help himself to the paper.
He or she approaches the paper carefully, all the time looking to see if anyone is watching, before disappearing into the shadows.
After making sure there are no witnesses the old labrador waddles off with the paper firmly clutched in its jaws.
Bowbyes posted the video on social media, hoping it would encourage the dog’s owner to stop it wandering.
The video had given everybody a good laugh.
Bowbyes has spoken to his neighbour and is hoping that the incident recorded on video is the last time his paper goes missing.