Dogged thief got what he came for

Adamson could see that the dog had tags on, although it wasn't clear if a Smith's Fresh Values card was attached.

But so far, no one has claimed ownership of the bone snatcher.

A lady did call from Washington state, says Adamson. She insists the dog, a husky/wolf mix, belongs to her. She said she lost the dog while moving from Texas to Washington at the end of the summer. She was in Albany, Ore., when the dog slipped away.

"She swears it's her dog," says Adamson. "She said it's in their nature to walk long distances like that. But we haven't heard from her since."

Could be she's trying to round up the $3.19.

"You know the economy is bad when the dogs are coming in for their groceries," says Adamson.

As for pressing charges, the store manager says there's no chance of that, even if the suspect showed up with an attorney.

"We'd probably give him a medal for the good time he gave us," says Adamson, who has worked for Smith's for 23 years. "You see a lot of crazy things in this business. But I wouldn't have believed this if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

---

Lee Benson's column runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com.