Alleged Bike Thief Arrested After Footage Showed Golden Retriever Distract Him During Heist

"Thanks to an invaluable anonymous tip and the diligent work of Northern Division Investigations, a 42-year-old man from San Diego has been arrested in relation to the bicycle theft from the garage in PB last month," the department shared to Facebook.

"We're thrilled to report the bicycle is back home, much to the delight of Ace, a very good boy," they added, referring to the dog. "This success underscores the power of community collaboration. Thank you for helping keeping our city safe!"

They also shared a photo of the pooch next to the bicycle that was originally stolen in July.

Well, we'll give the pup an A for effort, but they need to work on that follow-through. This very good golden retriever certainly did their best to stop a bicycle thief, but it wasn't quite enough.

The uncomfortably adorable video comes from a security camera in someone's garage, who apparently left their doors wide open. In the viral cilp, shared by WeRateDogs, the man can be seen grabbing the bicycle near the garage entrance when the dog comes out a side door.

With the dog jumping up on him and wagging his tail, the man backs the bike back into the garage where he found it and puts the kickstand down. Calling the pup "the coolest dog I've ever known," you can see the thief considering abandoning his theft entirely.

"Where's your dad?" the man asks as the dog rolls over and asks for belly rubs. "Your dad should know not to leave your garage open."

At this point, he's actually lecturing the dog about what enticed him into the garage in the first place. He appears to be expecting the dog's "dad" to come out at any moment — even calling for him at one point — so he can maybe tell him to keep a better eye on his dog, and maybe close his garage door.

But when "dad" doesn't show up, the thief's original intention returns. Finally, the man throws away his shot at doing the right thing and takes off with the bike.

The lesson to be learned here is that adorableness can certainly be enough to delay some crimes in action, they are apparently not guaranteed to stop said crime. We will note, however, that the clip ends with the dog appearing to take off after the man, so maybe there was a happy ending for the property owner, after all.

Fans online were loving the golden retriever's attempt to love the criminal into giving up a life of crime, and the fact it nearly worked. They also called out the fact that the dog may have done his part perfectly, it was "dad" who let him down.

"Oh that pupper did his job well," wrote one user on X (née Twitter). "was his back up that failed." Another echoed the sentiment, adding, "the pup can't be expected to do everything around here."

Another gave the dog credit for getting the guy on camera for approximately a minute and a half, so authorities could get a good look at his body, how he moved, his voice, and even his laugh at one point.

"Goldens are professionals at distraction & de-escalation," wrote another user, while still another might have it all figured out. "How can he retrieve it if he doesn't allow it to be taken first?" they wrote. That must be what that last-second dash was about!