Sly dog has taste for fancy bread

A canine thief with a taste for good baking has been helping himself to food at a central Otago cafe.

The owners of an Arrowtown cafe reported about 40 boutique breads had been stolen last Saturday morning.

Having thought the incident unusual in the small, tight-knit tourist town that remains relatively trouble-free, police started reviewing CCTV footage from a nearby ATM machine.

Upon spotting an early morning blur that could have been the culprit, Arrowtown community constable Beth Fookes discovered a mystery black labrador, with bread packets in its mouth, had made repeated trips to the cafe.

‘‘In total there were 10 paninis, 10 french sticks, 10 donuts and 10 bagels, totalling about $60 value,’’ she said.

‘‘We’ve identified three black labs in Arrowtown that fit the description, but none of which are the offenders.’’

Canine thief: This Arrowtown black labrador has a taste for boutique bread and makes a stealthy escape from a cafe with a mouthful of donuts, bagels or paninis.