Dog-masked Japanese man robs to buy pet food

A Japanese man on welfare was arrested after allegedly robbing a series of convenience stores to feed his pets--and here's the oddest part: he wore a dog mask, Agence France-Presse reports:

Takaharu Kawata -- branded by Japanese media as "The Dogman" -- was caught on a surveillance camera wearing an oversized black-and-white canine mask while brandishing a knife.

The 28-year-old was arrested in Osaka for hold-ups in which he allegedly stole a total of 587,000 yen ($5,470) in cash, a police spokesman said.

Kawata "said he resorted to the robberies because he loves animals and was running out of money to feed his two dogs, five cats, five turtles, two snakes and an aquarium of tropical fish," the spokesman said.

The man reportedly was arrested maskless, telling authorities his pet beagle had ripped up the disguise.

--Tony Barboza