Ontario dog who ran off on Boxing Day returns home
An eastern Ontario man is overjoyed his beloved dog, Snickers, is safe and sound after being missing for three weeks, battling the elements, predators, and even illness.
The 8-year-old Shih Tzu is a friendly staple of his owner’s flower shop in downtown Picton, Ont. called Flowers by Marvin, spending his days with his owner Marvin Chapman.
Chapman left on vacation on Boxing Day, and had Snickers staying at a dog sitter’s, when he got the call that his dog had run off.
Chapman said he was devastated.
“I was completely helpless. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t go look. I was just stuck. It was horrible,” he said over video chat in an interview with CTV News Ottawa from overseas.
Posters went up, friends and strangers searched; there was no sign of Snickers.
Michelle Lott, the flower shop’s store manager, said she helped coordinate the efforts.
“So many people were out searching for him,” she said.
But Lott said that wasn’t all. Snickers had health issues and wasn’t getting his medicine.
“He actually has kidney disease and Lyme disease so we were really worried by that point because he hadn’t had his medication since Boxing Day,” she said.
As days and nights dragged on, and extreme cold warnings were issued, Lott said they were giving up hope.
“A week ago Monday, it was minus 23 and it was looking pretty grim,” she said. “(I) called his veterinarian and he said the only thing at that point that would bring him back was a miracle. So we called off the active search at that point.”
Then, on Saturday, that miracle came true.
Lott received a call from a young couple, saying that Snickers had been found running along a road more than five kilometres away from where he took off.
“Just the fact that he didn’t get hit by a car is miraculous as well,” said Lott. “The area that he was found, there is a sand pit that is full of coyotes at night. So he had a lot of obstacles that he’s overcome.”
Lott believes the dog was outside the whole time.
Snickers was unharmed and has recovered from his ordeal. Chapman said when he heard the news, he couldn’t believe it.
“Michelle sent me the picture and I said, ‘you’re kidding me’, and then I was just completely emotional. That’s my kid. He is my world.”
Snickers will be reunited with Chapman on Monday when he returns from vacation.
“I can’t wait,” said Chapman.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.