In a bizarre break-in, a homeless dog was caught on surveillance cameras as he dug his way into the Fairbanks North Star Borough Animal Control shelter.

Named “Albert” by shelter staff, the enterprising pooch apparently had enough of homelessness, and shelter workers were shocked to meet him as they arrived for work the following morning.

A review of the tapes shows an impressive operation spanning hours – Albert arrived to case the joint at 1 am, and spent the next few hours sniffing around the facility, peeking into windows of the shelter, waiting for the right time to make his move.

“He was trying to get in the legal way,” joked Sandy Besser, animal control manager. Albert made his move at 6:30 am, digging with fury until he found himself inside. “He probably heard about what good care animals get here,” said Sandy Klimaschesky, shelter operations supervisor.

Once he was inside all that was left was one more digging session and Albert made his way into a holding pen with a half dozen sled dogs. He spent the rest of his morning getting to know the locals, exchanging sniffs before cheerily greeting the perplexed shelter workers who found him that morning.

Of course, nobody expects him to stay for long – strays are held for three days and then released for adoption, and with a story like his, Albert is expected to be in a new home soon. For the sake of his family, let’s hope he uses the front door.