Dog’s hilarious thieving habit stumps experts

DUKE the golden retriever was getting settled in his new adopted home when one day he grabbed a pair of reading glasses and pranced off with them.

- SYDNEY PAGE

Then Duke moved on to fine china — picking up teapots, plates and cups in his mouth and gingerly placing them on his bed to cuddle with. After that, he began thieving books, magazines and electronics from around the house. He even nabbed a 12-pack of toilet paper and an entire lamp and dragged them to his bed.

“He wants these very odd items,” said Cathy Hoyt.

Hoyt and her husband, who live in Richmond, adopted Duke 18 months ago. They had been warned about his strange tendency to take and guard household items, but nothing prepared them for the reality of it.

“Every night and nap time, he will go get something to sleep with — something weird,” said Hoyt, who is semiretired and works at the front desk of a local veterinary clinic.

At first, Hoyt started taking videos of Duke's curious behaviour to show her vet. But the clips were so hilarious that friends and family urged her to make an Instagram account so they could keep up with Duke’s latest heists.

The account took off and now has a loyal following, with some videos getting millions of views. The Dodo, an animal publication, recently featured Duke in a video.

“Tt’sall kind oftaken me by surprise,” said Hoyt, whose calm voice is always in the background of the videos.

Fans comment that Hoyt’s reactions to Duke, whom she calls often “Dukie,” make the videos even funnier.

She will sweetly call out to him, usually sounding taken aback, “Duke, honey, what are you doing?” as the dog saunters by, dragging a picture frame larger than his body.

Hoyt said she gives Duke different kinds of dog toys to keep him busy and entertained, and she makes sure he gets plenty of outdoor exercise to tire him out. Still, he will abscond with pretty much anything that is not nailed down when he goes to his bed.