Advertisement

Canine caper: Police catch therapy dog ‘stealing’ toy donations

Click to play video: 'Police catch therapy dog ‘stealing’ donated Christmas toys'
Police catch therapy dog ‘stealing’ donated Christmas toys
WATCH: The police department in Franklin, Mass., had been collecting toys during this year’s holiday season to send to the non-profit Santa Foundation but noticed some kept going missing – Dec 23, 2019

A Massachusetts police department has a Christmas canine caper on their hands!

Officials at the Franklin Police Department were confused when their holiday toy donations for the Santa Foundation started slowly going missing.

Lo and behold, officers discovered one of the department’s golden retriever therapy dogs, Ben, was the culprit.

On Dec. 18, the department shared a video on social media of the dog with a toy baby in its mouth, walking down a hallway and into a room where it keeps its stash of toys.

READ MORE: Man builds very fetching ‘stick library’ for local dogs in New Zealand

“We learned an extremely valuable lesson today. When you have a classroom full of toys ready to be shipped off to the Santa Foundation, you should 1. Close the door to the classroom or 2. Keep the toys elevated,” the police department wrote in the post’s caption.

Story continues below advertisement

“If not, a golden retriever will slowly hoard them throughout the day and bring them back to his lair,” the post continued. “Thanks to Officer Cusson for capturing this larceny on camera.”

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Thankfully, the pup’s “lair” wasn’t too far out of reach for officers. The toys, carefully collected by the department, will still make it to their little benefactors.

“We’ve had several officers that have worked very hard to make sure that some of the kids in town and the community that have needs will have something to open on Christmas,” Deputy Chief James Mill told Boston25 News.

Click to play video: 'United Airlines’ comfort dogs make holiday travel less stressful for frequent flyers'
United Airlines’ comfort dogs make holiday travel less stressful for frequent flyers

He added: “When Ben saw the toys, he thought they all belonged to him.”

Mill said Ben has the run of the station but has since been banned from this particular room.

Story continues below advertisement

“It was an easy solution. Ben here is now banned from this room. I mean, he’s gotten his slobber all over them at this point so the police department has replaced them,” Mill said.

Despite his canine crimes, the department’s furry companion is still the life of the party.

READ MORE: Touching video shows dog finally adopted after 500 days in shelter

“He’s like that guy who shows up to the party that everyone loves,” Mill said. “If Ben walks in, it’s like a ray of sunshine.”

meaghan.wray@globalnews.ca

Sponsored content

AdChoices