Dog pound theft caught on camera | Northland News | Local News in Northland

Whangarei police are on the hunt for a cheeky cat burglar who has gone to the dogs - he broke into the Whangarei Dog Pound and stole an impounded pitbull terrier.

The pound, on Kioreroa Rd, was broken into about 12.05am yesterday and despite more than 30 dogs being held in the full pound, the burglar made a beeline for a tan male pitbull.

Keith Thompson, manager of Environmental Northland, which operates the pound, said the unregistered dog had been impounded on Monday after reports it had been roaming onto neighbouring properties.

Mr Thomson said the pound's CCTV cameras captured images of a man  breaking a window,  ripping out a cover and squeezing through a small gap into the building.

"The pound was full at the time with more than 30 dogs in, but he went to one dog, let it out of its cage, threw it out the window and jumped out himself," he said.

Mr Thompson said the CCTV footage  shows the vehicle he left in. "It shows his face very well." 

The CCTV footage had been passed on to police who  were investigating.

Mr Thompson said the pound had several burglaries about three-and-a-half years ago, but security had since been increased and this was the first  since then.

 More bars would be installed to prevent a repeat.

Mr Thompson said if people were having genuine trouble paying pound fees he was always prepared to find ways of helping.
 "We would rather reduce fees and have a dog taken home than have to put it down,"  he said.

The burglary was being taken seriously and the offender would be prosecuted if caught.