IMO they either took a neglected dog and further abused it (possibly to death) and are trying to do damage control or there is a big part of the story we're not getting. :angry:
That dog was not well fed for even a day and if a stray dog (that was tied up BTW) can "escape" from an art gallery after hours, art thieves in that town must have the easiest job ever. (Although if the dog display is representative of their featured artwork, a locked door is probably completely unnecessary.)