Spate of missing dogs raises concerns

Three different farm families in Westman who are desperate to have their missing dogs return home say they suspect their pets may have been stolen.

The dogs’ sudden disappearances and lack of confirmed sightings within the past two weeks in the areas around Minnedosa, Grandview and Shoal Lake have raised growing concerns.

Denver, a six-year-old German shepherd mix with shar pei facial features, went missing on April 11 from an acreage off Highway 10 close to Minnedosa, said the dog’s owner, Amber Johnson.

“I would be almost positive that somebody has picked him up … whether he was stolen or somebody is just trying to reach us and haven’t seen our posts,” Johnson said.

“I’m not going to blame whoever has him. I just want him home.”

She said Denver was outside overnight with one of her other three dogs and didn’t come to eat food the following morning, which is very unlike him.

Although he has been known to roam the family property or visit the neighbours, Johnson said Denver always returns home because “he doesn’t like to miss a meal.”

“It’s very, very unusual. He’s a big dog, pretty easy to spot, and there’s just been not a single sighting,” she said.

“He’s a rescue, he’s had a tough life already, so this was his forever home. This is his peace. This is his safe space and to know he’s not in that is really upsetting.”

Johnson described Denver as being a large, friendly and outgoing dog that is brown, black and white in colour.

She said the community has spent countless hours looking for him. She has contacted RCMP, used a drone in an attempt to locate him and flooded local social media pages with “lost dog” posters.

It’s “unnerving” not knowing where he is or what has happened to him, Johnson said.

The family is offering a $200 reward for his safe return.

Chantelle Shwaluk has been searching for her family’s 11-month-old Rottweiler, named Kronk, who went missing on the evening of April 18 from their home near Shoal Lake.

She said he would never leave their rural property without their older dog.

“We don’t have answers. It just feels like a puzzle we don’t have all the pieces to, and we just want to finish it and find out what happened to him,” Shwaluk said.

Her children had just finished taking both dogs for a long walk, she said, adding that Kronk was outside chewing on a bone before he suddenly disappeared.

“We heard some barking in the yard while we were downstairs,” she said.

“We’re on a farm, our dogs bark at geese, ducks, anything, and we didn’t think anything of it, and we came upstairs and he was just not here.”

Shwaluk has put out flyers, checked social media pages for any possible sightings, used a drone and scoured the creek near her home.

“He’s part of our family. If somebody has him and would bring him home, there’d be no questions asked,” she said, adding that they are offering a $1,000 reward for his return.

Robert Breckner’s six-month-old purebred Samoyed also disappeared on April 18, near Grandview.

He said his family came back from an afternoon outing and the puppy, Max, didn’t come up to greet them in the yard along with their other two Samoyed dogs.

“He was very friendly, you know. If somebody would walk up to him, it wouldn’t be hard to grab him and put him in the truck,” he said.

Breckner said they’ve also used a drone, foot patrols and posts online to try and locate Max, but there have been no sightings of him so far. His family has even tried speaking to a medium — who has previously helped find another lost dog — on his whereabouts, Breckner said.

“The way she explained it to us, he was taken at the end of the lane … He’s not hurt, he’s still alive, but somebody is taking him to sell him and to get some money for drugs,” he said.

“He’s like family, so you try everything you can.”

Breckner said he’s offering $500 for anyone that comes forward with Max. The dog is fluffy with white fur.

The Brandon Sun reached out to the Manitoba RCMP about reports of missing or stolen dogs, but a spokesperson was not able to provide details before press time.

The dog owners ask people in the Westman area to expand their search efforts by keeping an eye out for their beloved canines outdoors and on social media.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com