An Okanagan woman has been reunited with her dog, nearly a week after it ran off.
Maria Moran of Penticton, B.C., said her one-year-old Chihuaha, Rio, went missing on the morning of Nov. 6 in Summerland.
Rio was out with a dog walker when another group of dogs approached. Rio’s leash was dropped, and, in a flash, the Chihuahua bolted.
“I was searching and searching for days on deer trails, in thorn bushes, doing door-to-door canvassing,” Moran told Global News.
“Posters were everywhere and I was kinda thinking it was the end of the road. But then I got a call (Thursday morning) and someone said he was on (Highway 97).”
Like Rio, Moran bolted to her dog’s reported location — around five kilometres from where Rio first took off — and found some people who had noticed, then rescued Rio in front of an RV park on Highway 97.
“I raced out there,” said Moran, who said Rio had chewed through the leash, but also had scrapes from apparently his leash being tangled in a vehicle.
“I was in tears and I still can’t believe that I’ve got him back.”
Moran said Rio doesn’t appear to be in pain, but has set up a vet appointment. He’s also underweight, though “he seems to be OK.”
During Rio’s disappearance, Moran said there were no sightings until Thursday.
“I think he was just stuck somewhere (until the leash was chewed through),” said Moran, adding a huge number of people spent time looking for Rio.
“I was losing steam and it was really nice to have all the positive comments and encouragement from all those people on the Facebook group.”
As a result of that support, Moran said she’ll be helping others search for their lost pets.
“I’ll stay on the group, and if this ever happens again, I will definitely be out there,” said Moran. “It’s so nice to hear other people searching and to read some nice words of inspiration.”