Dogsnatcher tries to snatch same dog twice in three years, gets busted for it. Again

[Cyka UchuuJin]

TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese man who longed for canine companionship was arrested for trying to steal the same dog he failed to snatch three years ago, police and reports said Thursday.

Naohito Kobayashi, 43, was released last month after spending time in prison for some 20 cases of dog-snatching.

But just two days after he was released he again stole a dog in the central city of Nagoya, a police spokesman said.

Newspapers said the dog was the same Welsh Corgi whose theft led to Kobayashi's arrest three years ago.

"I was lonely, so I stole the same cute dog," Kobayashi told police, as quoted by the Sports Nippon tabloid.

The 12-year-old male Corgi has since been safely returned to his owner, police said.

[Midwinter]

Good thing he didn't try and "steal" a woman in order to keep him company, huh?