Shoplifting dog returns to the scene of the crime

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Just before Christmas, a shoplifter was captured on security cameras stealing from a grocery store.

Unlike most thieves, this one had four legs. When the thief was discovered, she was brought back to the scene of the crime, in a Hummer.

Eleven-year-old Siberian husky Akira seemed eager for a return visit to the grocery store where surveillance video had captured her making a clean getaway with a stolen rawhide bone.

Akira's owners suspected she was the bad guy and brought her back to face the music.

"Yeah, there's no question. That looks exactly like the dog," store manager Roger Adamson said.

Adamson's store employees agreed.

When Akira was turned loose in the store, she followed her nose, straight for the good stuff. After sniffing around a bit, the first aisle she explored was aisle 16, the pet aisle, paying particular attention to the rawhide bones.

When asked if he's feeling proud or guilty, the dog's owner, John Stirling, said "a little bit of both definitely."

Akira lives a long way away. An electronic fence line is supposed to give her collar a jolt if she tries to leave, when it works. To get to the Smith's store in Murray, she must have walked from Cottonwood Heights, crossing under two freeways. After ripping off the bone, the round trip would have been nearly 12 miles.

Stirling said "We're definitely feeding her. She has boxes of treats in the cupboards."

This time around, Akira stopped at the cash register before leaving were her family paid twice, once for a fresh bone, and once more for the one that got away.