Dogs
This stray pup’s obsession got him in trouble, but it also got him adopted.
The officer who caught him has such a big heart.
Ashleigh Schalkwyk
04.07.21

While everyone knows that a dog is a man’s best friend, this dog’s best friend made the employees of a dollar store in North Carolina do a double-take.

According to onlookers, the labrador-cross darted into the store and ran straight to the toy aisle – where he became completely enamored with one particular stuffed toy.

The pup kept coming in to retrieve it and was repeatedly shooed out of the store by employees, but he wasn’t about to give up!

Pixabay
Source:
Pixabay

Every time a customer came in or out, the determined dog slipped inside the store once more, making a beeline for the purple object of his obsession.

Even after being chased out of the store five times, this stray dog had only one thing on his mind: stealing a bright purple unicorn plush toy.

Duplin County Animal Services
Source:
Duplin County Animal Services

Workers who witnessed the dog’s strange actions were at a complete loss – they knew that, no matter how many times they shooed him away, the dog would just keep breaking in. So they locked their doors and called animal services.

Officer Samantha Lane was on duty that day and responded to the call, but when she saw the dog’s devotion to the unicorn she just couldn’t bear to take it away.

Instead of arresting the adorable repeat offender, she bought the plush unicorn for him instead. After he finally got the prized toy, he was quite happy to be on his way… but she wasn’t about to let him back out on the street!

Officer Lane brought the unicorn-obsessed pup to Duplin County Animal Services shelter, who decided to name him Sisu, after the dragon cartoon character in Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon.

Duplin County Animal Services on Facebook
Source:
Duplin County Animal Services on Facebook

They snapped a photo of the happy dog with his purple unicorn and posted it on Facebook in the hopes that they could find his family.

But everyone at the shelter was blown away by the response the picture got!

Duplin County Animal Services on Facebook
Source:
Duplin County Animal Services on Facebook

The caption read: “This is what happens when you break into the Dollar General consistently to steal the purple unicorn that you laid claim to but then get animal control called to lock you up for your B & E and larceny but the officer purchases your item for you and brings it in with you.”

Duplin County Animal Services on Facebook
Source:
Duplin County Animal Services on Facebook

The story of Sisu and his purple unicorn was so enduring that it quickly went viral, stealing the hearts of netizens everywhere.

Due to Sisu’s newfound popularity, the shelter received large donations of food, cash, and yes… more than a few plush unicorns.

Duplin County Animal Services on Facebook
Source:
Duplin County Animal Services on Facebook

“He went straight for the unicorn, the same one every time,” Joe Newburn, a supervisor at Duplin County Animal Services, told PEOPLE, “It was so strange, one of the strangest calls I’ve ever dealt with.”

But the heartwarming story doesn’t end there.

On Friday, March 26, the shelter announced that Sisi had been adopted!

Duplin County Animal Services on Facebook
Source:
Duplin County Animal Services on Facebook

But, there’s still the burning question: why was Sisu so taken with this $10 toy that animal control was forced to remove him?

“The only thing we can think is that he came from a home where he had a similar stuffed animal or kids in the home did,” Newburn added in an interview with PEOPLE.

C Technical from Pexels
Source:
C Technical from Pexels

We’re glad to hear that Sisu had found his fur-ever home – and he even gets to keep his new purple friend!

Sisu’s story was so widely shared that people are still donating unicorn plushies to the shelter.

Duplin County Animal Services on Facebook
Source:
Duplin County Animal Services on Facebook

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