Police dog caught stealing children's Christmas toys in adorable video

Four-legged culprit caught in the act as officers record police dog hoarding donated toys under desk

A police department in Massachusetts solved a string of mysterious thefts involving donated toys for children in need, catching the four-legged culprit in the act just days before the Christmas holiday.

The Franklin Police Department discovered that one of its own K-9 units had been stealing toys from a bin of gifts meant for the non-profit Santa Foundation after reviewing its surveillance footage.

That suspect, a golden retriever named Ben, serves as one of the police department’s therapy dogs and could be seen taking several toys out of the bin before disappearing to an unknown location.

After a bit of digging, and with the help of a cellphone camera, officers managed to obtain clear evidence that he was hoarding the gifts underneath a desk — Ben’s “lair”, as the police department described it in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

A video the police department posted to social media showed Ben holding a baby doll in a carrier basket while seemingly moving quickly away from an officer who repeatedly asks: “Where are you going?”

Ben turns and appears to pick up pace while fleeing from the officer, before reaching an office and crawling underneath a desk. The officer follows him, recording his attempt to escape justice the entire time.

Other toys can be seen in the office and under the desk, as the officer can be heard saying: “You are priceless. He’s been stockpiling toys over there. He keeps bringing them in here!”

The police department posted the video to its Facebook account, adding that it had learned “an extremely valuable lesson” throughout the incident.

“When you have a classroom full of toys ready to be shipped off to the Santa Foundation, you should … close the door to the classroom”, the department wrote.

The department also suggested keeping “toys elevated” as an alternative, adding: “If not, a golden retriever will slowly hoard them throughout the day and bring them back to his lair. Thanks to Officer Cusson for capturing this larceny on camera.”