A Regina-wide search for Olive, a dog that went missing in March, did not have a happy ending.
Olive had been missing for six weeks and dog owner Adam Metzger was blown away by the community effort to help locate his dog.
“It was a long-fought battle, but it wasn’t fought alone,” said Metzger. “I started a Facebook group that had over 1,600 people. Then we merged over to a WhatsApp group which had almost 200 people, and there was 40 to 50 people joining in some of these group searches. Hundreds of people were putting in hours every day looking for my dog who never even met her before.”
On April 30, Olive was found deceased by a creek. Metzger retrieved Olive’s collar from the Regina Humane Society after she was picked up. It is his reminder of the kind of dog Olive was to him and the lives she touched.
“She (just) turned five in April, and I had her since she was six-weeks old,” he said. “She came everywhere with me. Whether that was going to the beach for Canada Day, (or) one of my friend’s birthday parties. (Olive) touched the hearts of thousands of people.”
The legacy of the five-year-old Australian Shepard lives on. Metzger was inspired to establish a non-profit organization in honour of his dog.
“We’re going to (call it) Olive’s Angels because of all these angels who have helped along this search,” said Metzger. “We’re planning on having our first fundraiser in the next coming weeks. We’re going to get a steak night going together where all of the (volunteers) can come together and get the closure that they need. Then we can start to talk about our future steps.”
One of those volunteers were Jade Rayner who got involved when she first saw a social media post about Olive being lost and how she was in desperate need of medical attention.
“I knew she needed to be found ASAP or she may not make it,” said Rayner in an email response to Global News. “I have been involved since the very beginning. I spent a lot of my free time driving around looking around for her, putting up posters, walking around the park with binoculars, organizing search parties … every time there was a sighting I was there.”
Rayner was upset when she learned of Olive’s passing as she seen the efforts Metzger put in to find his missing dog.
“I wanted nothing more than to find Olive alive and have her get the medical attention she needed,” she said. “(Olive) was a young girl that deserved so much more out of life.”
In the process of looking for Olive, Metzger and volunteers of the search have helped to reunite close to 20 pooches with their owners.
— with files from Jenelle Lippai
Comments