Jean-François Fortier and his girlfriend Marie Tellier are appealing to the public after their dog, Jake, was stolen during an afternoon bike ride near Lake Edith, Aug. 2.
Around noon that day, the couple left their 18-month-old golden retriever/husky mix tied to a tree in a parking lot on Lake Edith Road, while they went for a bike ride.
They left Jake behind, in the shade and with water, because he had blisters on his front paws, explained Fortier.
They also left a note that said: “My name is Jake, pet me.”
“He's really playful, very friendly and really submissive,” said Fortier, who lives in Canmore and brought his dog with him when he moved from Quebec about four months ago.
He said he didn't considered leaving the dog with somebody in the town, because it was his first time visiting Jasper and he didn't know anyone.
Five hours later, when the couple returned to retrieve Jake, the dog was nowhere to be seen, but a new note was posted on the tree, saying the dog had been left for too long and would be taken to the park wardens. The note included the wardens' phone number, but did not include contact information for the person who took the dog.
Fortier called the wardens, but no one there knew anything about the dog, he said.
He also contacted Jasper Bylaw and the RCMP, but was again told they didn't know anything about it.
“I had faith when I first saw the note that I would get him back,” said Fortier.
Desperate to find his dog, Fortier appealed for information on the Jasper Buy and Sell Facebook page and started canvassing the downtown area, putting up posters on the town's bulletin boards. He also officially reported the dog stolen to the RCMP.
The Canmore couple suspects the person who stole Jake may have had a change of heart and taken him home instead of to the wardens, as they had indicated in the note.
“The onus is on the dog owner to take responsible action for their pets if they are leaving them behind, that's in the vehicle or outside,” said David Osborne, the licensing and enforcement manager for the municipality.
He said bylaw officers have responded to several calls this summer about dogs in distress who were left inside cars, but said this case was rather unusual.
“To call a spade a spade, the dog has now been stolen. There's no other words; the owner has been deprived of his possession,” said Osborne.
Because the dog was taken from an area under Parks Canada's jurisdiction, it isn't a bylaw matter, explained Osborne, who said they would help out in anyway possible.
For now though, Fortier has returned to Canmore without his canine companion.
“Please return him, we miss him and we want to be together,” said Fortier.
Anyone with information is asked to call Fortier at 1-819-763-1624 or contact the RCMP at 780-852-4421.
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
