Stray dog in Moose Jaw finds forever home thanks to coronavirus pandemic

A stray dog in Moose Jaw, Sask., who was once too afraid to be anywhere near people has now found her forever home, in large part because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The dog named Boo was first spotted in the West end of the city in the fall of 2019 but wouldn’t let anybody come close.

The Moose Jaw Humane Society said it sent three staff to get her but was terrified and would take off whenever they tried to approach her. In the winter they succeeded in getting her to stay at the Moose Jaw Pallet.

That was where she met and bonded with Winston — a Shih Tzu dog whose family lived across the street from the Pallet.

“In the evenings, Boo will come over to Winston’s house and pick one of Winston’s toys in the yard and take it back to her side of the road. She will play with it for a few days and when she gets bored she will bring it back to him and take a different one of his toys,” said Moose Jaw Humane Society’s Dana Haukaas.

According to Haukaas, Winston’s owners, Ron and Beth Jelinski, offered to feed the pellet dog when COVID-19 hit, because they were staying at home in keeping with public safety rules, and the Moose Jaw humane society was short-staffed.

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The Jelinskis were able to convince Boo to stick around.

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She added that one day, with the help of Winston and Bacon (another of the Jelinski’s dogs), Boo decided to take a treat from Ron’s hand while he was sitting on the ground.

“After that, it went very quickly. He reached his hand out and she didn’t back away. He gave her a little rub and she flipped over on her side. Within 24 hours she was sitting on the couch in their house.”

“It took patience and time and was a blessing for Boo and for us that the Jelinskis were at home and able to spend that extra time earning her trust,” said Haukaas.

Boo lives with her new family now and still likes to roam, but always comes back home at night.