For three weeks this summer Garson Hunter drove out to the Qu’Appelle Valley, northwest of Regina, putting out food and hoping it might tempt his beloved Spanish greyhound La Gracia out of hiding.
“I’d camp in my car overnight so that there’s food in the morning, food at night to keep her coming.”
Sick and hungry, the dog had already led a tough life when it went missing from a Lumsden veterinary clinic in late August.
La Gracia had been saved while living in Spain, a country where greyhounds, the fastest dogs in the world with top speeds exceeding 70 km/h, are used in racing then often abandoned or killed when their career is over.
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By the time Hunter got La Gracia through a rescue organization a year ago, she’d already had a three kilogram tumour and her mammary glands removed, and was diagnosed with cancer.
In August, Hunter and his wife took La Gracia to a vet clinic, TM’z in Lumsden, 30 kilometres northwest of Regina.
La Gracia was sick, infected with a parasite that required regular drug treatment to keep it under control.
Hunter said the veterinarian at TM’z suspected the medication had accumulated in the dog’s system and admitted La Gracia for intravenous treatments to flush out her kidneys.
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At some point during Aug. 30, La Gracia escaped.
TM’z declined to comment on the story, citing confidentiality concerns.
The Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association (SVMA) also did not respond to requests for an interview, but its practice standards state, “Doors and windows shall be secured and/or self-closing to prevent escape or theft of animals.”
For the next three weeks, the sick animal lived in the wild of the Qu’appelle Valley, refusing to come when called and avoiding all attempts to capture her. Hunter said he doesn’t want any other dog owner to have to go through the same thing.
Hunter said the veterinarian provided several suggestions on catching La Gracia.
Geneviève Duperron of Quebec-based Ge Cherche Charly, an organization that specializes in catching lost dogs, said there are misconceptions about the best ways to catch a lost dog.
Duperron, who said she received 1,500 requests to find lost dogs this year and has a 91-per-cent success rate, said it’s important to keep a dog’s location private if it’s known and not create a search party, which is likely to scare the dog.
Ge Cherche Charly is a Quebec organization that specializes in finding lost dogs. It recommends a passive approach or food station to catch the missing pets. (Ge Cherche Charly)
She recommends distributing posters to get the word out about a lost dog.
If a dog is located, she said a main food station can be used to lure it in.
“The flight mode is when the dog gets lost. The adrenaline and cortisol goes up higher in the brain,” she said, explaining why lost dogs won’t come to their owners.
“The owner sometimes is anxious and emotional. So they don’t call them usually like they used to call them normally in the house. So that’s why the dog doesn’t recognize either.”
Hunter said he looked, but couldn’t find any experts in locating lost dogs in Saskatchewan.
“There is nothing in Western Canada, there’s no organization to get these dogs. We phoned British Columbia, we tried Alberta, and we were talking to someone in Manitoba. No one has the equipment necessary.”
He connected with Duperron and several of her volunteers to figure out how to locate and catch La Gracia.
Workers at a local market garden near Lumsden spotted La Gracia, but kept the dog’s location quiet to not draw public attention and further spook it.
Hunter placed trail cameras near the market garden and put food out three times a day, but was still unable to catch the dog.
Volunteers rescued La Gracia, who was hungry and sick, but alive after nearly three weeks on the lam. (Garson Hunter)
A volunteer from Ge Cherche Charly flew to Regina at Hunter’s expense and installed a specialized mechanism on a large crate to trap La Gracia.
It worked on the first try.
“It’s not always that easy that the dog goes straight in the kennel. Sometimes you have to lure it slowly and gradually,” Duperron said.
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Hunter said La Gracia required round-the-clock veterinary care for days after her capture, but is back home now and has returned to her normal routine.
“I can’t believe she’s there. I’d given up I was going to find her,” he said.
Hunter said the whole affair cost more than $7,000 for veterinary care, trail cameras and flights for the volunteer from Quebec to come assist with the capture.
He said he wants to move on from La Gracia’s escape, but plans to submit a complaint with the SVMA about TM’z.
He also wants veterinarians and their regulating body to adopt industry-wide policies on how best to safely capture lost dogs.
