Pit bull 'burglar' leaves behind big mess in home

By KEVIN REECE / KHOU-TV

HOUSTON—Rosie Sanchez rushed home Wednesday morning when a neighbor called to say her home was being burglarized.

She made it home in time to see the suspect was a real animal who was being led away on a leash.

Neighbors near the intersection of Antoine Drive and West Gulf Bank have been complaining for several days about a pit bull roaming from house to house.

Wednesday morning, Diana Session noticed the same pit bull clawing at the front window of Rosie Sanchez’s home. Sanchez was away at work and her Chihuahua and a Yorkshire Terrier were inside the home alone.

Session was shocked when she looked at the house again a few minutes later. This time the pit bull was on the other side of the window. It was inside the house.

“I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ I couldn’t believe that dog was in there,” Session said.

The dog had pushed open the back door of the Sanchez home and wandered inside. He was inside playing with the smaller dogs for at least an hour, according to the neighbor.

Diana Session, an amateur photographer, took several photos of the “burglary.” She found it remarkable that the smaller dogs were OK.

In fact, in the photos she shared with 11 News the pit bull can be seen inside the house at the same window it was clawing to get through. And it is side by side with the Chihuahua. They were apparently getting along famously. The pit bull is male. The Chihuahua is a girl. Her name is Princess.

Session continued to take pictures as an animal control officer went through the same unlocked back door and removed the pit bull from the Sanchez home.

Rosie Sanchez returned home in time to see the "suspect" taken into custody. She's still cleaning up the evidence of his visit.

“It’s just a mess,” she said as she gave us a tour of the damaged furniture, scattered trash and dog food. The dog also overturned stereo and gaming equipment and left a puddle of urine underneath her dining room table.

“I mean, you can just see the dog just tore through so much. It’s very amazing to me that he got in. It really is,” Sanchez said.

She's laughing now about the unusual burglary by an unlikely suspect, but Sanchez will never forget the fear she felt when she got the original phone call. She has three children who would soon be coming home from school. She pictured them walking in on a burglary in progress.

“I thought that maybe one of my kids was at home already. So yeah, there are no words to explain the feeling,” she said.

“You know, I can clean up a mess. But you know a child’s life and a pet you know you can’t replace," Sanchez said.

Houston’s Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care confirmed to 11 News it does have custody of the pit bull burglar and is searching for its owner. If no owner is found, it would likely be put up for adoption even with its unusual criminal record.