Dog missing for 5 weeks found on Vancouver Island
After more than a month of searching on Vancouver Island, a beloved dog that's trained to help its owner with her diabetes was located safe.
Daisy the Australian shepherd was found on Friday on a floating dock in Mill Bay, B.C.
The dog had been missing since May 12 after she went on a walk with her owner, Ciara Cownden, around Shawnigan Lake.
During the walk, Daisy managed to slip out of her GPS collar at the same time that something startled her, causing her to run into the woods.
The animal recovery group FLED helped search for the dog, with scattered reports of Daisy being sighted in the area.
On Friday, Daisy was found on the dock and was brought to a veterinarian. The dog spent the night in vet care and had lost about eight pounds, but is otherwise fine.
"[Searchers] just moved into the area, they were looking out on the dock there that was floating, and it was Daisy," said Gary Shade, co-founder of FLED.
"She'd fallen asleep," he told CTV News. "They figured the tide had come in and picked the dock up and was taking it out."
A volunteer who was nearby dove into the water and swam to the dock to retrieve Daisy.
"Once she saw Ciara, the owner, she just went all over, just ballistic," said Shade. "Just happy."
Ciara Cownden is shown. (CTV News)
Cownden has Type 1 diabetes and Daisy has been trained to help with tasks in case of an emergency, such as getting Cownden her blood sugar monitoring device, or retrieving a juice box if her blood sugar levels suddenly drop.
Daisy also helps with preventing her owner from panicking.
FLED says the search for Daisy was one of the hardest ones the group has worked on, since there were few reported sightings over the five weeks she had been missing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.