A counsellor in Fort Macleod is hoping someone can help him find one of his therapy dogs, who was believed to be stolen just steps away from his front door on New Year’s Eve.
Marvin Vandenhoek and his wife operate Blue Rein Ranch, a counselling centre that uses dogs and horses as therapy animals to help people heal from trauma, abuse and mental-health concerns.
He let the dogs out of the house early that morning, went inside to make a coffee and when he came back, Major – a three-year-old German shepherd – was missing.
“I thought, ‘Well, he’s probably behind the barn, chewing on a bone or something like that.’ But as the day progressed, he never returned and we haven’t seen him since,” Vandenhoek said.
Shortly after, his wife found two bags of dog food on the driveway leading to the therapy ranch.
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Fort Macleod RCMP said this isn’t the first time this has happened in the area.
Const. Tracy Gates noted four dogs in the town have gone missing about every two weeks, starting on the Thanksgiving long weekend.
“What’s concerning about some of them are — there has been dog food bags put on the top of posts on barbed-wire fences,” she said.
She said police believe the same people are taking these dogs and are using the food to lure them away from their homes.
Mounties are unsure about the motive behind the alleged thefts, but note three of them took place about two miles from highways 511 and 785.
Police said one of the dogs was found on the west side of the town and has been reunited with its owner.
Gates said she believed the dog ran away and was found by a Good Samaritan.
Vandenhoek is hoping something similar happens with Major, noting he was a favourite by a number of his clients and a big part of their family.
“My kids would shoot hoops on the driveway and it was almost like he would be playing guard. He would be barking at the ball and (he was) just so playful. He just loved nothing better than to be interacting with people,” he said.
Vandenhoek said he is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to finding Major.
Anyone with information about the dogs is asked to contact Fort Macleod RCMP.