Dublin police have arrested a 20-year-old man who allegedly admitted to placing two dead cats and a dead dog from a local veterinary

hospital into unoccupied Dublin High School lockers as a practical joke.

Pleasanton resident Brian Goett was arrested at his home Friday afternoon, police Sgt. Shawn Sexton said today.

Goett, who is not connected to Dublin High School, told police that he entered an unlocked enclosed area behind the VetCare hospital on Amador Valley Boulevard in Dublin, Sexton said. While "Dumpster diving" Goett

found a freezer that serves as the hospital's animal morgue.

Goett allegedly took the two cats and small dog and stuffed each into separate, unoccupied lockers located in the same locker bay.

Goett told police placing the animals in the lockers was meant to be a prank, according to Sexton.

The school has about 600 unoccupied lockers, school district Assistant Superintendent Dave Markin said.

The most recent discovery was made when a deceased cat was found in an outdoor locker near the school's counseling center in the middle of the campus Sept. 9. The first animal was found during the first week of school, which started Aug. 25.

The Dublin School District offered up to $250 for any information in the case.

"No one was taking it lightly," Markin said. "The students were actually very bothered."

Police located Goett after contacting students and using information from "the grapevine," Sexton said.

Investigators believe others may have been involved in the "prank," said Sexton, who added it might have been a group of friends with Goett.