It seems like every day you read a new story about how this or that dealership is out hundreds of thousands of dollars due to criminal activity. G Motors, near Houston, Texas, is no exception, unfortunately. Except in this case, the culprits are — and I don’t use this term lightly — a couple of bad dogs.
Surveillance footage at the dealership shows that a pair of dogs broke into its lot, and started tearing the bumpers and fenders off vehicles. That would be bad enough if it happened once, but the alleged recidivist criminals came back on three separate occasions, damaging a total of five cars.
“You just never think a dog has the kind of power to tear up a car like that,” Gaby Fakhoury, the dealer’s sales manager, told ABC13. Such was the damage, that employees thought wolves might be responsible, but the surveillance footage shows clearly that a couple of dogs are behind the mischief.
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Fakhoury estimates that the incidents could wind up costing the dealership anywhere from $100,000 to $350,000. He’s also worried that the damage will affect sales, by scaring away customers. He can’t blame them, because the incidents have already frightened employees.
“Nobody wants to leave their cars anymore. They want to make sure they get straight into the office,” said Fakhoury. “They’re so scared.”
Frustratingly, there seems to be little the dealership can do. Although it filed reports with the Houston Police Department, officers told them that this is a civil matter, so there isn’t a lot they can do unless the dogs hurt somebody, and no one wants to wait for that.
Private eye for canine culprits
The department did suggest that the dealership could hire a private investigator to follow the dogs home. In fact, if they have an owner, G Motors could sue them for the damage they did to the vehicles.
Fortunately, the problem shouldn’t affect it for too much longer, because the dealership is moving to a new location. In the meantime, the only thing they can do is try to block off the fence around their lot as well as possible.