It was lucky day for a wandering dog called Luke when he decided to stop at the McIntire home south of Little Fort on Jan. 3.
This prompted Rebecca McIntire to go through a list of tried and true methods to find the owner of this gentle and friendly canine.
The dog had no ID, so McIntire took his picture, e-mailed it to the animal “Lost and Found” person in Barriere, and then took the frightened, but well mannered dog to board at Birch Aker Kennels in Darfield until his owner could be found.
Kennel owner, Sharon Hallliwell, has frequently helped out and rendered assistance to area pets that are in trouble.
The next day, the “Lost and Found” person, Elli Kohnert, received a call from a friend on Lemieux Creek Road, north of Little Fort. The caller stated that her footloose adventuresome dog, Luke, had disappeared from her home.
“Last night the wolves were howling,” said the caller, “Maybe he went looking for them.”
Kohnert was not sure this was the dog who ended up south of Little Fort; so she e-mailed her friend his picture. And, yes, this was wayward Luke.
Then it was just a matter of reuniting Luke with home. Needless to say, his owner was grateful for the generous help from everyone involved in helping to bring her pet home.
Kohnert noted there is a loosely formed network of ‘animal help people’ in this area, and that this network has been active for a long time. It is truly amazing how well it functions without any formal organization. She says the secret to its success is that all involved are serious animal care people and will go out of their way to help an animal in need. And of course there is the support from the Kamloops SPCA and many residents within the area.
Kohnert notes there is no guarantee that a lost pet will be found, but if this caring network is involved there is at least a reasonably good possibility that they may be able to generate some useful information.
Kohnert advises putting an owners name and phone number on a dog’s collar is the best way to ensure that if lost, help will only be a phone call away. But, if you find you are missing your pet, or that you have found one, you can call Elli Kohnert at 250-672-9387.