Pitbull stolen from pound

Pound dognapper. Photo / Supplied

You've heard of a cat burglar ... but how about the Hawke's Bay man who piggybacked an aggressive pitbull to freedom?

The man was caught on security camera footage stealing the impounded dog from a Hastings council pound.

Two offenders broke through the roof of the Hastings pound about 11.30pm on Thursday and freed the dog with boltcutters.

The unregistered pitbull had been impounded on Tuesday after attacking a labrador.

A witness said the dog, which was on a lead, pulled its owner off his bike when it rushed the other animal.

A passer-by had to prise the pitbull's jaws open with a crowbar to release the labrador.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said the break-in typified the attitude of some dog owners.

"Not only do these idiots want to own these sorts of threatening animals but they are prepared to commit a serious crime to get them."

Yule said security had been increased at the pound after tougher rules around dog control were introduced this year, including higher fees for releasing impounded dogs.

"The long and short of it is we had a dog that was impounded because it was a danger to another dog and society and somebody has retrieved it," he said. "Now we've got to get it back."

Community safety manager Phil Evans said another dog had been stolen from the pound in a daylight break-in before security was tightened up.

But Thursday night's break-in would have been a "real mission," he said. "There certainly wasn't any half-measures."

Evans said the owner of the dog was recorded on camera at the pound earlier in the day, and the footage had been passed on to police.

Hastings police Senior Sergeant Dave Grieg said police had leads.