Panda’s peril: Thai mutt’s home warehouse heist in Udon Thani leaves owner pawsitively stunned

The owner of the Thai Mutt dog named Panda failed to ward off a thief who broke into a home improvement warehouse in Udon Thani, stealing valuable assets and then escaping. The incident took place at approximately 5.30pm yesterday.

The police officer in charge, Kritsada Chanon, of the Mueang Udon Thani Police Station, was notified about the burglary at the home improvement warehouse located at No. 129/7 in the Non Than community, Mak Khaeng Subdistrict, Udon Thani City.

The thief damaged the glass door lock at the office, stealing nine-inch Buddha statues, two Buddha statues in blessing posture, and an electric grinder. The total worth of the stolen items was estimated at 34,000 baht.

The warehouse, which is fully fenced and spans an area of one acre, is located away from the residential area. The owner of the warehouse, 48 year old Viroj Srichairat, was present at the scene of the crime.

By examining the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, it was found that at 12.38pm, a 30 year old man dressed in a blue short-sleeved shirt, grey shorts, and white sneakers was seen approaching the office door. He was seen talking to Panda, a black and white female Thai Mutt dog, who was lying in front of the door.

After their interaction, Panda moved out of the way, and the man broke into the door, stole the property, and fled. The entire crime took approximately eight minutes, reported KhaoSod.

Toothless guard dogs

Viroj stated that he had been running a full-service home improvement business and storing tools in the warehouse for over 10 years. However, it had been closed since the Covid-19 outbreak. He fed his two guard dogs, Panda and a Bangkaew dog, every day. While Panda lived in the office, the Bangkaew dog, known to be aggressive and possessive, guarded the warehouse at the back.

Viroj further added that he visited the warehouse once a week, while his colleagues visited daily to feed the dogs and collect tools and construction materials.

On the day of the burglary, while he was working at a client’s house in Nong Bua Subdistrict, Udon Thani, his mobile phone, connected to the CCTV system, alerted him of the break-in. However, he didn’t check the notification immediately due to his work commitments.

Viroj expressed his disappointment over Panda’s reaction towards the thief. Despite being raised for several years, Panda neither barked at nor showed hostility towards the intruder and even moved out of his way.

The police are now investigating the CCTV footage along the route used by the thief to break in and escape in an attempt to track him down and proceed with legal action.