TIMMINS - After almost a week of chasing and sightings, the dog roaming in the north side of town is safe and getting the treatment he needs.
Animal lovers have been trying to catch the black dog spotted along Highway 655 near the Timmins and District Hospital parking lot since Friday, March 7 and this morning (March 12), a team of rescuers finally got a hold of him.
The rescued pup is being seen by a vet. It’s unclear how the dog ended up along the highway but he was not wearing a collar when he was found.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the group,” said Shawn Ouimette, who caught the dog this morning.
The group in question includes Ouimette, Yves Lessard, Shelley Deslauriers, Cassandra Emily, and Paul Charles. They worked together, chasing down sightings, setting out food, and doing their best to get the dog to safety.
“I’m so happy, I have tears in my eyes,” said Lessard.
Ouimette has only slept a few hours during the last six days.
“I’m exhausted,” he said.
All week, any time the dog was spotted, the group went out to try and round the dog up. They set up a group chat and kept each other informed.
Today, the search started around 7 a.m. Charles saw the dog around 9 a.m and he and Ouimette finally caught the dog around 11:15 a.m.
“I saw the dog actually running down Ross Street,” said Charles. “Shawn grabbed him, he yelled at me for the leash, so I ran to him and leashed him up and walked him back to the car.”
Ouimette said it was a very clear moment for him, when the dog stopped in front of him.
“I was on my sled, and I caught him in the deep snow,” said Ouimette. “Paul came over the hill and the dog looked at him and in my head it was like, now or never.”
Once the dog calmed down, Charles said he’s been friendly.
“As soon as Shawn picked him up he loosened up and calmed down,” he said. “He’s a very gentle dog.”
The group bonded over their concern for the dog and determination to get him to safety.
“It’s really nice to have a feel-good story for a change,” said Deslauriers. “We’re all huge dog lovers, ”
She said many people provided information and went looking for the dog as well. The city cleared a path so that a cage could be set up near the snow dump behind the hospital.
The search brought out the best of people throughout the city.
“I caught sight of the dog on the highway but I couldn’t see him because of the snowbank,” Lessard said. “And then I hear someone talking to the dog, and I’m walking faster and I get to the highway and the OPP was following the dog, and they said they just wanted to make sure the dog didn’t get run over.”
When the pup was spotted closer to town, wandering into neighbourhoods, Deslauriers said they took that as a sign he might be tired of running.
“He started running the streets last night instead of us the highway, and the Ski-doo and walking trails, so we thought, well maybe he’s ready to give up,” she said. “Maybe he’s come to the point where he’s ready to get help.”
Ouimette said the dog looks like it’s under a year old and was missing fur on its back leg and tail.
It's being seen by a vet this afternoon.
Charles said there were a lot of people sharing what they’ve learned in other searches for other dogs, and he’s glad the knowledge he gained while looking for his own lost dog helped this story get a happy ending.
“We picked up a lot of information and that information is helpful,” he said. “Things to do like not call out for them, not try to chase them, the dog’s got to come to you. And that’s exactly what Shawn did. He did it the right way.”