Todd Debona and his family believe their pugs Price and Boomer were stolen last Friday.
The duo got out of the house in the fresh snow and have not been seen since.
“I could see that they were being chased. You know? You could see their paw prints and four feet away, human footprints in the snow, intercepting the paw prints where they tried to grab them. And then… they grabbed them,” Debona said.
After the initial shock of finding out about his dogs’ disappearance, there was a flood of emotions for Debona.
“I was mad. I was angry, who does something like this? And I mean in Canada? What is this world coming to?” he asked
“But after I reached out for help to find my boys, I don’t think I have stopped getting messages. I was cleaning last night and passed out on the couch and woke up this morning to 28 new emails and messages.”
Debona is particularly concerned because one of the dogs needs daily medicine. He and his family are just desperate to get them back.
Taber police have been notified and are investigating but say there’s not a lot to go on now that the snow has melted. Debona initially offered a cash reward of $200.
Since then, the dog and pet community nationwide has rallied around Debona and his family.
“Right now, there’s $6700 that’s accumulated from people offering to help for the reward to help get my boys home,” Debona said.
The Lost Paws Society, a nonprofit group that helps dogs, in Taber also stepped up to help offering to have a crate on their property as a neutral ground where the dogs could be returned.
“Our community is so supportive, and we as a society wanted to offer that support to Todd,” said Sherry Barrett with the Society. “We just want to do anything that will get his boys home.”
He is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support, having had family members, friends and even complete strangers help him in his efforts to return the dogs home unharmed.
“Thank you is not enough, I can’t find the words the right words maybe haven’t been invented yet, to show, how much it means what they’re doing,” explained Debona. “This experience has really shown me that there are good people out there, that care.”