Burglar pauses robbery to play with homeowner's golden retriever

A burglar stopped to pat a family’s gold retriever before calmly stealing its owner's $1,300 electric bike. So, I’m guessing the pooch wasn’t a guard dog.

Footage shared by San Diego Police showed the thief entering a brightly lit garage and beginning to make off with the bike. You can check it out here:

But as the man attempted to leave with the bike, a large golden retriever appeared from a door in the garage and approached him.

The cute dog is seemingly too adorable for the man to resist and he stops mid-theft to give him some pats.

Putting the bike stand on, the man drops to the ground and starts to stroke the dog telling him: “You’re the coolest dog I’ve ever known. I love you, too. You’re a sweetheart.”

He then offers his new four-legged pal some safety advice, telling him: “Where’s your dad? Your dad should know not to leave the garage open.”

In a somewhat bold - or downright stupid - moment, he then shouts: “Dad!” before once again telling the dog that he ‘loves’ him.

San Diego Police

“You got too much s**t, how do you have so much s**t in your house?” the man can be heard asking.

“Why do you have all this stuff? Dude, you might be the coolest dog ever.”

The man then wheels off on the bike - after which the dog hangs around for a few seconds before appearing to give chase.

Department Lieutenant Brian Brecht told NBC: “The guy enters the garage, grabs the bike and starts to walk out. He is about five feet outside the garage door, and a golden retriever comes outside, into the garage, and follows the guy out. He immediately comes back in, parks the bike and starts playing with the dog.”

As yet, the police have not caught the burglar, but are hoping that the footage might offer up some leads.

San Diego Police

“We are still looking for the subject. That’s why we advertised this on social media, but hopefully, we can get some tips from the public,” he added.

Cops say the suspect is a white male, around 30 years old and that he was wearing a blue and white hat, a grey shirt and orange athletic shoes.

Offering some tips to the public on how to avoid a similar situation themselves, Brecht said: “Lock your house. If you have an alarm, activate that alarm and be aware of your surroundings. If you are going to leave for a while, let your neighbors know that you’re out of town.”

Topics: US News, Crime, Dogs

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at UNILAD who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats.