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.
鈥淚 should have been more proactive, but I thought he鈥檇 just ran down to the beach and I was going to finish setting up my tent and go grab him,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just did not think in all of my life that he would get stolen.鈥�
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.
鈥淚 need to find these people because they apparently think that I don鈥檛 want my dog鈥e鈥檚 not hurt, he鈥檚 well taken care of, he鈥檚 well loved, he鈥檚 with me 24 hours a day,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 lived here all his life, he doesn鈥檛 deserve to get stolen and taken to a different city with somebody he doesn鈥檛 know.鈥�
She said she was frustrated at the officer for not getting contact information from the couple before leaving the dog with them.
鈥淚 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 didn鈥檛 ask,鈥� she said.
She said she鈥檚 confident Itska has been taken out of town because she鈥檚 lived in Tofino for 20 years and has owned Itska for four, yet no one she knows has seen him in the past week.
鈥淚鈥檓 always walking my dog. Everybody knows me and my dog. So, if he鈥檚 in this town, they will find him, but I don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 in this town because police said [the couple] aren鈥檛 from this town,鈥� she said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 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 he鈥檚 not in town鈥 just want his picture spread everywhere so that hopefully he can come back to me.鈥�
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.
鈥淭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,鈥� Pebernat said. 鈥淭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.鈥�
He said the officer was then called to a 鈥渉igher priority鈥� situation and left the scene.
鈥淭he member did not take the dog from the owner or tell the couple they could keep the dog,鈥� 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.
鈥淚f police knew where the dog was, we would be happy to facilitate the return of the animal to the rightful owner.鈥�
He said the investigation into Itska鈥檚 whereabouts is ongoing.
鈥淢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,鈥� he said.
He suggested the situation highlights the importance of residents complying with Tofino鈥檚 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.
鈥淪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 don鈥檛 have homes or somebody to care for them and perhaps, well-meaningly, decide to take the dog either home or to a shelter elsewhere,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hich, obviously, is very problematic as most of the dogs on the West Coast do have families that care for them鈥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.鈥�
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 CARE鈥檚 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.
鈥淩eally, it鈥檚 a tough situation because once they leave the coast, it鈥檚 hard to say where they go,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t this point, it鈥檚 just a very sad situation for Shannon.鈥�
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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