This is the moment a crafty dog nearly got away with the paw-fect crime as it stole a cuddly toy from a bed shop.

The sneaky pooch took a fancy to a plush poodle that had been perched on a pet bed at the store in the municipality of Cascavel, in the Brazilian state of Parana, on Monday, 13th March.

So while its owner was distracted, it slipped into the shop and carried the life-sized toy away in its mouth.

CCTV footage of the poodle pup-nap shows the dog sneaking into the shop while the shop assistant was not looking and making off with its haul.

Then footage from outside the store shows the excited pooch playing with its new toy before his owner notices and takes the toy back to the shop.

As he hands the toy back, the assistant – named in local media as Jaine Batiuk Donato – has to hide it behind her back.

The dejected pooch leaves empty-handed as the footage ends.

Jaine, 30, said: “He said the dog was naughty.”

She added: “I laughed a lot because when he came to give it back, I didn’t see the dog.

“Then, when I got to the door, I noticed. The dog kept looking at me with a ‘give it to me’ face. I even hid it behind my back and said it couldn’t take it.”

“The stuffed dog is doing well and has already recovered from the scare of the kidnapping.”