Dog foils porch pirate at Utah residence

One Utah family is thanking its 9-year-old Labrador retriever for thwarting a would-be thief at its Ogden home, KSTU reported.

Zero is mostly a timid animal, said its owner, Whitney Cahoon.

"(He's just a Lab that's scared of everyone and everything," Cahoon told KSTU. "I mean dusters, plastic bags, the cats … he's terrified of the cats."

But on this day, the dog went from Zero to becoming a hero.

Cahoon's doorbell camera caught the porch thief running up and grabbing the package, followed by Zero bolting out of the house toward him, the television station reported. The thief had a getaway car, but tossed the package back onto the road by the house as the dog approached, KSTU reported.

“I just kind of yelled, ‘Get ’em Zero! Get ’em!” Cahoon told the television station. “He just went for it, it was awesome.

“I’m hoping that the word spread from them not to mess with us.”

The joke could have been on the porch pirate. Whitney said the package contained a $4 dimmer switch, KSTU reported.