A sleepy guard dog slumbered through burglary as a thief made off with its owner's phone.

The pet Shih Tzu named Browny dozed off on the living room in front of the main door to protect the family from intruders in Rizal, the Philippines on January 20.

However, Browny's strategy failed when the thief broke into the home through the back door without it noticing.

CCTV footage shows Browny in deep sleep while the unidentified man sneaked a step away from him.

The trespasser moved stealthily, observing what he could take and using a small flash light to search.

Eventually, he found a phone by the table, tucked it into his pants, and left - all without waking up the guard dog Browny.

The dog's owner Abigail Aguirre said: 'The man took my father's phone. We still have not found him. He seemed to be from another place.

'Browny slept through it all. Maybe our dog was too tired from playing the night before.'