After a short investigation, Kingston Police believe they have solved the case of a suspected dog nabber in Kingston’s east end.

Area resident Mary Lucas told the Whig-Standard on Tuesday evening that she believed a man tried to break into her backyard to steal her dog, Tren, a 68-kilogram, South African boerbel around 4 a.m. Tuesday morning.

“It was an individual delivering newspapers,” Kingston Police Const. Ash Gutheinz said.

Police spoke with Lucas as well as the delivery man who voluntarily identified himself to police. The man confirmed he was driving a white van and his clothes matched Lucas’ description.

Lucas told the Whig-Standard on Tuesday evening that her dog was in the backyard around 4 a.m. and started to bark and run around the yard, something he doesn’t usually do.

After looking out the back window, she said she went to the front of the house and she saw a man run into a white van and drive away.

She also said her side gate was broken during the incident.

Lucas, in a text to the Whig-Standard on Wednesday, disagrees with the police’s findings as her regular newspaper delivery driver has red and black colours on the van and this one she saw was all white.

“I can say with 100 per cent certainty it was not the paper delivery man,” she said. “The newspaper guy would not be breaking my gate for any reason.”

Kingston Police Sgt. Brad Brooker said the case is now closed.

“This has been investigated and determined that the newspaper delivery man’s presence at a neighbouring house drew the attention of the complainant dog who happened to be outside,” Brooker wrote in an email. “There is evidence that the dog jumped up against the fence, causing minor damage to the latch.”

People around the Kingston area have been on high alert after reports of a man in a white van posing as a Kingston bylaw enforcement officer apparently using the ruse to abduct dogs. The impersonator also claims to be following up on a barking dog complaint.

Lacricia Turner, the city’s manager of licensing and enforcement, said in a news release that an officer would only visit the home of a dog owner to discuss the complaint but would not seize the pet.

Kingston Police also advise anyone who has a similar issue involving a possible dog napping to report the incident by calling 613-549-4660 or going online to www.kingstonpolice.ca and filling out an online complaint form.

imacalpine@postmedia.com

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