“You don’t deserve such a beautiful dog—I want her for my kids”: Entitled woman tries to steal a beloved Australian Shepherd from outside a small-town diner, but the community rallies to protect her and ban the would-be dognapper for good

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Jul 14, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

You know, it is rather hilarious how the most entitled people, are not only entitled towards themselves and their needs, but also feel as though they are entitled to judge others. Well, we guess it is in the concept. But still, the hilarity of this story, aside from the fact that it was likely not so funny for the people involved, is that the entitled woman who tried to steal a dog, in some place in her unhinged heart, felt that she truly deserved this wholesome hound.

Thankfully, there were enough people around who live in our shared reality to see that this woman was not thinking with any sort of clarity and stepped in to support the poor pupper pawrent who was dealing with one of the worst things that a pupper pawrent can come up against. And even if the event itself was not too pleasant, at least it was worth its lesson, you never leave the ones you love behind, no matter what.
 

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  • 01
    I had someone once try to take my Blue Heeler, Sophie, from me when I was out in town with her.
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    Background: At the time of the story, I was 19, and my younger brother was 6. I'd take Sophie out with me and pick him up from school, then we'd got to the restaurant next to where my father worked as a pharmacist. When my father was
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  • 03
    done at work about an hour after we got there, we'd all carpool home together. The little brother would take his food to the little arcade machine they had in the back and blow his allowance on it, and I'd go outside to eat with Sophie while reading on my tablet.
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  • 04
    It was a nice little 'mom and pop' ice cream parlor/ restaurant that's been around since the early 1930's, and it's across the street from a rather well known local tourist attraction. We knew the
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  • Why is it that for all the peace, quiet and supposedly neighborly nature of small town suburbia, the worst, most heart-wrenching stories come from. All we can imagine is that something about the unassuming nature of such towns allows a level of naivety that is not afforded to us city folk.

  • 05
    owners, and they liked her, often spoiling her with food that was either turned away, or just stuff they couldn't sell that day. The owners wife would often spoil Sophie with free ice cream or a piece of saltwater taffy.
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  • 06
    The story: The little brother had had a half day on the day this happened, so we'd gotten there right as the lunch crowd was leaving.
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  • 07
    I leashed Sophie to an outdoor table at the restaurant while my little brother and I went inside to order, as per our usual routine. The owners had no problem with it, as we were on good terms at the time and still are. Sophie
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  • 08
    wasn't aggressive, and I was on first name basis with most of the staff, who adored her. (Most of them were either still in high school, or just graduated and picking up a first time job)
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  • 09
    I go to place our order, including something for Sophie to eat, and halfway through the order, the server points behind me and say's in a panicked voice: "Someone's trying to grab Sophie!" I dropped what I was doing, turned around, and saw this heavyset lady trying to corral Sophie around the table, with one hand on her leash, and the other hand trying to grab her collar.
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  • 10
    I'd had people ask me if she was for sale before, (she was, and still is a very beautiful dog, even at 16 years old now), but nobody had tried to just take her before this. I rushed toward the door, and threw it open so hard it nearly cracked the glass pane. Meanwhile the cashier was calling the owner out of the back of the kitchen.
    via manatarms1989

  • Golly gosh, this is one heck of a horrible hooman. Even in big cities, people leave their dogs outside non dog-friendly institutions, and it is not a big deal. So why in the heck would anyone think that it would be something they could get away with in a small, quiet town where everyone knows each other? Some people really are born on the wrong side of stupid.

  • 11
    After I got out the door, I demanded "The hare you messing with my dog for?!" The lady responded with a sweet voice; "I was going to take her home." Like she wasn't just trying to steal someone's beloved pet.
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  • 12
    I lost my s***, and screamed at her; "You get your hands away from my dog, or there's going to be police involved, and it WON'T be for you." I was, and still am a big guy, I'm 6'1", and about 280 lbs. She jerked her hand away like
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    she'd been stung, but decided to try to start ranting at me about how; "You obviously don't care for the poor thing if you're leaving it tied out here in the sun, you don't deserve this sweet little thing."
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  • 14
    The nerve of this lady! She'd been caught red handed, and she was STILL trying to get MY dog. At this point, I'd had it!
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  • 15
    "Lady," I began, trying and failing to keep calm. (I've had anger management issues since I was small, so this wasn't easy.) "She's in a shady area, and I set a bowl of water down for her which she hasn't even touched yet. I'd been in the restaurant for about a minute before you decided to try to abduct her. And we eat outside of this establishment all the time."
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  • 16
    At this point, I was about ready to explode, but kept calm as I could as I grabbed Sophie's leash and unclipped it from the table. She immediately hid behind me, and I tried to back off, but this entitled lady wasn't done yet...
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    "You don't deserve such a beautiful dog. I want her for my kids to play with." She demanded. At this, I sensed an opening to de-escalate the situation. "That's a terrible idea!" I started, having an idea on how to get out of this situation, "This breed is notorious for being bad with kids!"
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  • 18
    This is true with the breed, but not with Sophie, she's always loved kids, and she's mixed with Australian Shepperd, which are generally great with kids in my experience. But this lady didn't need to know that.
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  • 19
    "What are you talking about? She's been so friendly every time you're down here." This raised every alarm bell and red flag in my head at the same time. She'd been watching me and Sophie for at least a week or two to know how often I was down here, and know our routine. She might have even planned this out in advance!
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    "This is a Cattle dog, they're bred to work with half wild cattle, and are known as 'heelers' for how they bite at heels of people and animals. They're not like Lassie!" | started ranting. (To be honest, I
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  • 21
    never knew if she understood that reference.) "And it doesn't matter anyway, this is my dog, and you're not getting her. Now leave us alone, before the police get here! The staff have already called them." This was a bluff, I had no idea what the staff was doing.
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    But it made her stop for a minute. And that was long enough for me to get back to the door, and open it before asking the owner, who had come out of the back, "Hey, *Owner*, (Not using his real name without permission), Mind if I wait in here with Sophie for a bit? Someone just tried to take her while she was out front."
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    The Owner took one look at me, and at Sophie trying to hide from the lady, and replied, "Head into the back. I'll let you know when it's safe."
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  • 24
    I took Sophie and headed back into the area next to the arcade machine, where she cuddled up to my little brother, who she's always been attached to. Meanwhile I heard the owner start telling the lady off. She even tried to claim I stole her dog!
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  • 25
    The conversation went like this: Her: "He just took my dog!" Owner: "Nice try, but he's a regular customer, and he's had that dog for 2 years now. I've known her since she was a puppy."
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  • 26
    Her: "I'm not leaving until I get that dog!" Owner (In the most quiet, soft and collected voice I'd ever heard him use. It honestly made him more intimidating, I'd never seen him get angry before, and it was terrifying): "No, You're leaving right now. We have you on camera trying to take his dog."
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  • 27
    Her: "This isn't over! I want to speak with the owner!" Owner: "Yes it is... I'M the owner. And you're banned! Both from my store, (for some reason, he never called it a restaurant), and all other stores in town."
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    Her: "You can't do that, you have no authority." Owner: "Yes I can. I'm head of the local council, and I'm making sure they all see what you did! If you leave now, you should get away before his father gets here. I've already called him. And he's not a nice man when his family is threatened." (This was a bluff, he
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  • 29
    never called my father, but I didn't learned that until years later. Dad was a true 'papa bear' when it came to us kids. Even threatening the local deputy once when he came into our house when he wasn't home.)
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    This was what finally broke her, but she wasn't going to leave before getting in one last blustering half threat "Fine, I'll leave! But this isn't the end of this!" After which she stormed out.
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    It turned out that WAS the end of it. The lady got kicked out of all the local owned stores, and had to do all her shopping at a chain store in the next town. She later moved out of the area when people found out what type of person she was and stopped. being nice to her.
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    Nowadays, the Ice Cream shop has been sold to new owners. The old owners retired a few years later and are living a comfortable life in the Washington Peninsula. I still talk with them online every now and then. I gave the wife my reading tablet so she could enjoy her books more often as a retirement present.
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    My father's also retired and spends most of his time around town hanging out and playing with his friends in a blues band. And my brother and I work at a local grocer.
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  • 34
    Sophie still likes kids, and the sweet things in life, but we've had to cut back on how much she get's. She's getting old, and having trouble getting around now. If people show interest, I'll try to find one of our photo's from when we'd stay out in front of the store eating together.
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  • 35
    Some more details; this happened in a small community about an hour and a half east of Seattle, Washington. The locals were, and still are, a rather tight knit community, and everyone out here knows each other. Most of the longer lived stores around here used to be passed from parent to child. My family was no
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  • 36
    different, but Mom decided to pursue her own career when she was younger, and sold her part of the family business to her siblings. Dad grew up in a similar community in Idaho, so he's also big on 'Small Town' values. (Helping neighbors when they need it, taking care of others, Etc...) I was a 3rd generation local brat, and most of the area knew my family, since my uncles still ran one of the larger stores.
    via manatarms1989
  • 37
    Sadly, people from the larger urban areas are starting to migrate out this way, so a lot of the smaller businesses are being driven under by large chain stores.
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  • 38
    For all pet owners out there, I'll say this: Get your animal licensed, and chipped if possible. If you can't get them licensed, keep a photo and vet records of them for when you have to prove it's your animal. And NEVER make my mistake and leave your pet unattended in a public place.
    via manatarms1989
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    Cheezburger Image 10529394688
    via doda via Adobe Stock

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    Cheezburger Image 10529394432
    via Pixel-Shot via Adobe Stock

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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deserved steal dogs reddit story australian shepherd dont small town dog story diner kidnapping entitled people beautiful
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