Stolen ‘Slapshot’-inspired sheep recovered after thief posts photo on Instagram

This is "Steve Hanson from Sheep Shot." Made of a glorious mixture of fiberglass and nostalgia, Steve is part of Ewe Revue 2, a public art collection in Rochester, Mich., that features two dozen sheep modeled after classic movie characters.

Steve Hanson is, of course, inspired by the character of the same name from classic hockey movie "Slap Shot."

But you don't ice a Hanson brother without expecting a little action. On May 25, Steve was stolen from his wooden stand by some punk with either too little or too much respect for the greatest hockey movie of all time.

The police were contacted. A reward was put up for the sheep's safe return and a file was opened on the sheep, which was valued at $2,000. He was missing for almost a month, and prospects looked bleat -- er, bleak.

But then the police received a tip that the sheep might be in Rochester Hills. And by tip, I mean photo confirmation uploaded by the thief. From The Patch in Rochester:

Pro-tip for criminals: don't be the biggest idiot ever. And seriously, Instagram? Making your crime look "Old Westy" doesn't make them any less illegal.

Anyway. The police went and recovered the sheep. But before they did, they perused the rest of the photos on the dude's account and discovered "a possible narcotics connection." Good grief.

During his adventure in Rochester Hills, the Steve Hanson somehow managed to lose his ears, a skate, and his glasses, about $500 worth of damage. He's in for repairs before heading back out there, just like the real Steve Hanson.

For the uninitiated, before he was a sheep, Steve Hanson was one of these guys (NSFW for strong language):