Thieves are jerks. Especially four-legged ones.

Randall and Allix Merritt of Osmond in Star Valley first started noticing just before Christmas that the cat food they had set out for their cats was showing up completely gone the following morning. This was unusual for the Merritts, whose cats typically don’t finish all the food in their dishes. Their suspicion grew greater as they noticed that the bowl holding the food was knocked off the small platform it was placed on, something their cats never seemed to do either. 

Deciding to catch the dirty burglar in the act, Randall and Allix placed a camera on their front porch at night to find out who was sneaking off with their cats’ dinner. The next morning, the video recording revealed the truth. Lo and behold, there on the Merritt’s porch around midnight, was a happy thief having himself a gourmet meal of cat chow. The criminal has come back practically every night to get his snack, sneaking on and off the porch like some kung-fu master.

“He is so quiet. We have four dogs that don’t even make a peep when he comes,” Allix says. “He stays for about a max of ten minutes, then he makes his way out again.”

While the four-legged thief is obviously a fan of the Merritt household, he’s winning over some hearts there as well, even gaining himself a name. “Our daughter Bentley has actually decided to give him the name of Rodgie,” says Allix. “I’m not sure where it came from, but she calls him Rodgie.”

The Merritts have since installed a doorbell camera to record Rodgie’s visits, which appear to be fairly regular.

So–for now–Rodgie will continue to stop by the Merritt’s place and rob them of their cat food.  What a jerk.

Watch the video of Rodgie caught red…hooved below, as well as the radio interview with Allix Merritt.

Allix spoke with Swift 98 about her family’s four-legged burglar.