Thief steals collection for guide dogs

PATCHOGUE, N.Y., April 5 (UPI) -- Police in New York state say a hard-hearted thief was videotaped stealing a collection box for guide dogs for the blind from a Long Island bagel shop.

Investigators released the tape of the theft last month in hopes of getting help from the public, The New York Daily News reported.

A security camera at Bagel Lovers in Patchogue, N.Y., shows the thief waiting for a good moment when no one was looking. He then picks up the box, hides it under his jacket and walks out.

Meredith McKendrick, a store employee, said that everyone assumed the box was misplaced because they did not believe anyone would be so mean. Then they looked at the security tape.

"It is stealing from the blind," she said. "It's horrible."

She said the box contained about $400 donated by customers for the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind in Smithville, N.Y.