The Case of Canine Crockery: A Tri-Cities History Mystery
🐾 A 1948 front-page headline from the Tri-City Herald.
🐾 Pasco pet owners were confused by the theft of their dog's food dishes.
🐾 The culprit was unexpected.
1948: Israel is declared an independent nation. Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated. Beavers are parachuted in Idaho. And in Tri-Cities, Washington, months after a devastating flood, a string of mysterious thefts was taking place.
Reported on the front page of the Tri-City Herald, in the middle of the front page under a headline about getting new street lights in Pasco, was the ominous headline:
Solve Mystery Of Missing Canine Crockery
The reporter for Tri-City Herald sets the scene: residents near Fifth and Henry in Pasco had seen three different dog bowls disappear, specially marked with the pooch's names.
But who would be so peculiar as to want to steal a few dog bowls? Surely we've seen some odd stories in Tri-Cities, but what motivation could a thief have to steal a few pieces of "canine crockery"?
After what must have been an intense investigation, suspicion came to rest on one "Dhing How" - a black Chow Chow (described as a "black Chinese chow") owned by the Provo family. The newspaper stated the suspect was "known in the neighborhood for his repertoir [sic] of tricks and his discriminating taste for rare dishware."
Forrest Provo was set upon defending his noble canine companion, until the three missing bowls were discovered in his back yard. Said Forrest:
Dhing apparently reasoned that we'd fill all three with his breakfast. However we think he's going to go straight now. We made him return the stolen property and in return agreed not to take the matter to the sheriff.
And so the mystery was solved - a string of heists by a single criminal who had only one thing on his mind.
► Read also: The Story of the Dog Poop Girl
So ends your local history lesson today. Let this be a lesson to dog owners: keep your pets safe in your homes and yards, lest they take up a life of crime.
Source: "Solve Mystery of Missing Canine Crockery" Newspapers.com, Tri-City Herald, October 13, 1948, https://tri-cityherald.newspapers.com/article/tri-city-herald-solve-mystery-of-missing/152651246/
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