Two seemingly well-intentioned tourists are believed to have left Tofino with a local dog and its owner is desperately pleading for it to be returned.
Shannon Boothman told the Westerly News she was setting up a tent near Tonquin Beach around 7 p.m. on Nov. 2 when her dog, Itska, ran off towards the beach.
91裸聊视频淚 should have been more proactive, but I thought he91裸聊视频檇 just ran down to the beach and I was going to finish setting up my tent and go grab him,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚 just did not think in all of my life that he would get stolen.91裸聊视频�
She said a police officer with the Tofino RCMP approached her shortly afterwards and informed her that he had found Itska with two tourists and would bring the dog to her.
She said she then left the area to search for Itska and did not see the police officer again that night. She said she was informed by the RCMP the next day that the dog had been left with the two tourists.
91裸聊视频淚 need to find these people because they apparently think that I don91裸聊视频檛 want my dog91裸聊视频e91裸聊视频檚 not hurt, he91裸聊视频檚 well taken care of, he91裸聊视频檚 well loved, he91裸聊视频檚 with me 24 hours a day,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淗e91裸聊视频檚 lived here all his life, he doesn91裸聊视频檛 deserve to get stolen and taken to a different city with somebody he doesn91裸聊视频檛 know.91裸聊视频�
She said she was frustrated at the officer for not getting contact information from the couple before leaving the dog with them.
91裸聊视频淚 just want my dog back and the only way I can do that is to get his picture everywhere because I have no idea where he is because the police didn91裸聊视频檛 ask,91裸聊视频� she said.
She said she91裸聊视频檚 confident Itska has been taken out of town because she91裸聊视频檚 lived in Tofino for 20 years and has owned Itska for four, yet no one she knows has seen him in the past week.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 always walking my dog. Everybody knows me and my dog. So, if he91裸聊视频檚 in this town, they will find him, but I don91裸聊视频檛 think he91裸聊视频檚 in this town because police said [the couple] aren91裸聊视频檛 from this town,91裸聊视频� she said.
91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 so many locals sitting on the street and everybody knows who Itska is. Everybody is looking for him, but the more the days go by, the more I know he91裸聊视频檚 not in town91裸聊视频 just want his picture spread everywhere so that hopefully he can come back to me.91裸聊视频�
Tofino RCMP detachment commander Sgt. Todd Pebernat told the Westerly that an officer was called to the Tonquin Beach area for an unrelated matter the night Itska went missing.
91裸聊视频淭he member tried to assist and located the dog with a couple who reported they found the animal and believed it to be in need of care,91裸聊视频� Pebernat said. 91裸聊视频淭he member, hoping to reunite the dog with the owner, returned to the female to advise that he may have located her dog but could not find her.91裸聊视频�
He said the officer was then called to a 91裸聊视频渉igher priority91裸聊视频� situation and left the scene.
91裸聊视频淭he member did not take the dog from the owner or tell the couple they could keep the dog,91裸聊视频� he said adding the officer attempted to contact the Coastal Animal Rescue and Education Network, but was unable to reach anyone that late at night.
91裸聊视频淚f police knew where the dog was, we would be happy to facilitate the return of the animal to the rightful owner.91裸聊视频�
He said the investigation into Itska91裸聊视频檚 whereabouts is ongoing.
91裸聊视频淢y sense is that the couple may have turned the dog in to an SPCA out of concern for its welfare. If that turns out to be the case, I would not pursue it as a theft as the folks were likely acting in good faith out of concern for the dog. That said, the file is still open,91裸聊视频� he said.
He suggested the situation highlights the importance of residents complying with Tofino91裸聊视频檚 bylaws, which mandate that all dogs must be leashed unless confined indoors or within a fenced property.
James Rodgers of the Coastal Animal Rescue and Education Network said situations where tourists decide to take a dog are more common than one might think.
91裸聊视频淪ome of our communities have free roaming populations of dogs, so when visitors are visiting different areas of the region, those dogs may join them for a walk or a hike for an hour or a day and perhaps in those situations, people think those dogs don91裸聊视频檛 have homes or somebody to care for them and perhaps, well-meaningly, decide to take the dog either home or to a shelter elsewhere,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淲hich, obviously, is very problematic as most of the dogs on the West Coast do have families that care for them91裸聊视频hen these things happen, I think it is largely well-intended people, just perhaps not understanding how animals live out here, which in some cases can be a little less conventional than what they might be used to in the city.91裸聊视频�
He said CARE has spoken to Boothman, but because the dog has been taken out of town, rather than gone missing, searching for Itska falls outside CARE91裸聊视频檚 regular search protocols.
He added that CARE has advised Boothman about various online groups to notify for help searching and advised her to contact SPCA facilities across Vancouver Island as well as the mainland.
91裸聊视频淩eally, it91裸聊视频檚 a tough situation because once they leave the coast, it91裸聊视频檚 hard to say where they go,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淎t this point, it91裸聊视频檚 just a very sad situation for Shannon.91裸聊视频�
Itska is described as an unneutered male with a dark brown and black body, a tan-coloured head, white legs and a curly tail.
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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