A Launching Place man has offered a $500 reward for the return of his metal dog letterbox after it was stolen in the early morning on Sunday 26 October.
Dalry Road resident Tony said he went to do some mowing on Sunday when he realised his custom-made, one-metre tall dog letterbox was missing.
“I look down at the ground, and there’s just a steel tube that’s been cut with a saw or angle grinder, and the dog is gone,” Tony said.
Tony received the $2000 dog letterbox from his partner as a birthday present five years ago, with the dog representing the multiple canines he owns.
It left him feeling “really upset” as the gift was not only worth a lot of money, but it also held sentimental value.
“Anyone who has had anything stolen from them, there’s a loss there. But this was unique, it was made for my birthday, and now my birthday present is gone.”
The dog was custom made with an old gas bottle and other various bits of metal and it was welded to the ground.
“No one could have just picked it up, but we never thought someone would come along with an angle grinder or saw and cut it off.”
He believes the burglary was premeditated, as it would’ve required some tools to remove it from its location.
“I reckon they parked their ute next to it at some ungodly hour, angle ground it off, picked it up, chucked it in the ute and sped off,” Tony said.
“It was probably some young folks doing it for a bit of a laugh, thinking it would look good in their garden,” Tony said.
If Tony could speak to the dog snatching criminals, he would say “that was my birthday present, and now you’ve ripped me off”.
