An alleged burglar set more than 30 dogs loose in a San Francisco kennel Friday morning after breaking in through a window while staff members were preparing to feed the animals breakfast.
The break-in occurred at 6:23 a.m., based on video footage from the kennel’s security system.
“They found these dogs that were loose,” said Marc Pearl, the owner of K9 Playtime on Brennan Street. “As they went through the building, they came to the retail store and he was up there with half a dozen dogs.”
He said that when staff found the alleged burglar, later identified as 59-year-old Michael Grunwald, he was feeding the dogs treats and giving them toys.
“They were following him around like the pied piper,” Pearl said. “They were having a blast.”
Pearl suspects Grunwald intended to steal something – but may have been side tracked.
“He’s a dog lover,” Pearl said. “Go figure.”
Staff members confronted Grunwald with a stun gun, but did not have to use it.
Pearl said the man just sat down after realizing that he was being detained. There was no struggle, and nobody was injured.
“For me as a business owner, it’s very important that none of the dogs were hurt, none of the dogs got loose and none of the staff got injured,” Pearl said.
Pearl added that after the break-in one dog did need to be seen by a veterinarian. The animal was suffering from diarrhea, presumably after eating too many treats.
Dave Brooksher, Bay City News
