VERNON – It should have been a happy trip for Stewy the dog. Earlier this month the griffon cross was on his way from the Okanagan to the Lower Mainland for a trial period with a potential adoptive owner.
“Unfortunately, on her way back home she was in an accident,” says Saving Grace Dog Rescue President Kimberly Gillis, who had been fostering Stewy. “Stewy was lost.”
The crash happened on the Coquihalla Highway north of Hope and that is where Gillis, a Vernon resident, headed. Gillis hoped the dog could be found.
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“I was doubtful but I wasn’t giving up,” she says.
And other dog lovers were not about to give up either. After the crash, animal rescue groups, locals from the Hope area and others all jumped in to help search for the dog. Last Saturday Gillis spotted Stewy again. It had been 14 days since the accident.
“I actually got asked if I was hallucinating and I thought I was too. I honestly didn’t expect to see him. I just always felt that there could be a chance. A lot of us were very stubborn that way. We still went to look for him.”
Live traps were put out and Stewy was found inside of one the next morning. Gillis says people were putting food out for him, there was a lot of water near the accident site and Stewy’s shy personality may have also helped to keep him safe.
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“Him being so timid, I think the noise of the highway kept him off of there,” she says.
Gillis says Stewy was covered in ticks when they found him but has since been to the vet and is doing well. The woman in the car accident survived and was well enough to join in the search for Stewy.
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