An Invercargill dairy owner is still laughing with customers about her latest tale, which involves a sneaky three-legged dog and a $5.40 roll of dog meat.
Esmay Hay was serving customers at Alray Dairy on Windsor St when the pooch appeared out of nowhere on Friday, January 4.
It found the meat chiller, grabbed a dog roll and fled through the front door, weaving through customers.
The incident has been the talk of the shop over the last week, and was made even funnier when Ms Hay looked at CCTV footage of the caper.
“The video is so funny, just to see the look on their faces, they just couldn’t believe it. They were standing there with their mouths open,” she says.
Being a Friday night, locals were coming in in droves to order their fish and chips.
“Mr and Mrs Stevens were coming in the door to place their orders and the dog ran a wide circle around them and ran out the door. It’s quite hilarious,” she recalls.
“We suspect he came through the open back door and trotted through the shop because the next thing, he appeared at the dog roll chiller,” says Ms Hay.
Once it had fled the shop, they went outside to follow it but it was nowhere to be seen.
“The dog roll wrapper was found about three blocks up the road, so he’d enjoyed his meal,” she says.
But that wasn’t the last time they saw the homeless dog, which came back five days later to try its luck again.
“My staff members tied him up and put him outside the shop and he was still there at 7 that night.
“Then my 23-year-old grandson took pity on him and bought him a dog roll and fed him,” she says.
The pound has since contacted Ms Hay, informing her that the three-legged dog is a 10-year-old German short-haired pointer named Oscar.
His owner still hasn’t been found.
“He was a fascinating wee character. I do wonder how many times he’d been in the shop.”
Ms Hay says Oscar’s saga has been the talk of the suburb.
“Customers are grinning and laughing and talking about it. Everyone who comes in the door gets the story,” she says.
3 News