Far be it for us to encourage further misconduct, but dogged persistence paid off in a big way for this determined pup! A stray dog in North Carolina has been gifted the unicorn plush toy that he tried to steal multiple times from a Dollar General store.
The business in Kenansville, North Carolina, called animal control on Sisu, a large male stray dog, because of his repeated thievery. It was the third week of March when the pup prowler scoped the parking lot, waiting for the right time to make his move. No disguise, no planned getaway. Whenever the store door opened, he dashed in and headed straight for the innocent, unsuspecting unicorn.
“He went straight for the unicorn, the same one every time,” says Joe Newburn, a supervisor at Duplin County Animal Services. Four or five times he did this, according to shop staff until he was finally thwarted by employees of the Kenansville, N.C. Dollar General, who locked the door and called Duplin County Animal Services.
“Finally, they had to lock the door and called us,” Newburn tells PEOPLE about how animal control became involved in this playful pooch’s story.
Animal Control Officer Samantha Lane responded to the call and stealthily purchased the $10 stuffed treasure. The pup, once again stationed in the parking lot, eyed her from a distance. But when she put the unicorn in her front seat, he “came along willingly,” Newburn said in the News and Observer story. And although crime doesn’t pay, Lane found it in her heart to grant clemency and let the pup keep his beloved toy. No word as to how the unicorn felt about the arrangement.
“The only thing we can think is that he came from a home where he had a similar stuffed animal or kids in the home did,” Newburn adds.