For six months, someone was vandalizing cars in Brampton, Cumbria, puncturing tires and causing the dreaded slow leak, leaving motorists stranded and police taking off their caps and scratching their heads. Residents were so outraged they set up a surveillance camera to catch the villain.
“I was having to replace car tires every couple of weeks,” said a mechanic at a local car garage, according to the Daily Mail. “Everyone thought it was someone with a knife.”
God knows why they didn’t look at a dog first. Because it was a dog. A dog was puncturing tires for six months before anyone caught her.
Meet Jess the Border Collie.
Jess likes nothing more than to run up to a car, get her teeth on some rubber, and start chewing. She’s a tire-chewer. She likes to bite tires. Her owners used to let her off the leash during their walks and Jess would hightail it to the nearest car, bite some tire, and then head back. The tires would be flat by the morning. Jess’ owners had no clue, and when they saw the surveillance footage that fingered Jess, they were shocked.
All told, 10 people filed reports with the police, but who knows how many just shook their heads and fixed the flats.
“We are both just mortified,” Jean Morgan, a retired civil servant, according to the Daily Mail. “She is the most obedient and affectionate dog we have ever had, and it is just shocking to hear this terrible news.”
To their credit, the elderly couple has reimbursed residents for their damages.
“We are very distressed by what has happened. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the CCTV footage,” she went on. “To think that Jess has done this has made me feel very sad.”
PC Simon Amos solved the mystery, according to the Daily Mail.
“These incidents have been happening for the last six months, with many residents being very upset at the thought of someone targeting them and causing the damage deliberate,” he said. “The dog had been seen approaching the cars and many believe that she was just sniffing at the tires. It isn’t until you take a closer look that you can see her biting the tires.”
Have a closer look yourself:
Jean Morgan says she’ll now keep Jess on the leash, and she has been spreading the word to reassure residents that someone wasn’t deliberately targeting their cars.
“Border Collies are hardworking dogs, and are trained to nip sheep,” she said. “I think she must get overexcited when she has had a good run.”
Via the Daily Mail
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