A man steals dogs, then returns them for the reward money.


THE DOG THIEF is used with permission from Lucas McGowen. Learn more at https://lucasmcgowen.com.


Adam is an artist who has hit hard times, with bills piling up, his art patron passing away and his artistry hitting a mental block. Desperate to make some money, he tries to pick up some shifts at a restaurant and considers becoming an art model.

But then he hits upon an ingenuous, even more lucrative scheme: he steals people's dogs and returns them for the reward money. Soon his scheme gets momentum, and Adam is flush with cash. But eventually, his conscience catches up with him, and when he's faced with a dog whose owner doesn't seem to want him back, he thinks better of his scheme -- only for life to catch up with him.

Directed and written by Lucas McGowen, this ironic comedy short is a wry commentary on the desperate things people will do for money and how schemes can gather momentum, taking our lives and selves in unpredictable directions. Briskly paced, it captures Adam's urban, gritty Brooklyn milieu in a naturalistic, almost dingy visual style, with an eye for telling detail, from the garbage in the streets juxtaposed against the gleam of a posh coffee shop.

Adam lives in a gentrifying neighborhood, with struggling artists living alongside people who can pony up significant reward money for a lost beloved pet. His scheme to kidnap dogs and wait for the reward money is exploitative, but after a rough start, he becomes good at it, even enjoying the company of the dogs. The storytelling hums along, with a lush, Broadway-type of musical score in parts underscoring the slightly ridiculous nature of it all.

Actor Tony Farfalla plays Adam as a scrappy archetypal artist just trying to find a way to pay his rent and make his art. But as he becomes quite good at his scheme, he shows an energy and vitality that we haven't even seen with his art-making. But when he's left with one dog whose owner has yet to turn up with an offer for a reward, he starts to realize what his actions mean and his conscience begins to twinge just a bit -- enough to take action. But that action has an unpredictable course, one leading to a shocking irony.

THE DOG THIEF ends with yet another twist, one that seems cheekily aware of how goofy it is. But it also adds a layer of commentary, about wealth, inequality and the gap between the haves and have-nots of society. It's funny, even a bit silly -- but also just thought-provoking enough for viewers to perhaps reframe the story they've just seen in a different light.