After being lost for nine days in the rugged Vancouver Island wilderness, a dog was miraculously reunited with its owners – with the help of some bacon.
Kacey Wall and her partner Chris were hiking with their dog, Beira, near Circlet Lake in Stratchona Provincial Park on Aug. 11, when the pair became separated from their four-legged companion.
The couple searched the area for the remainder of the day with friends, but were unable to locate Beira before nightfall.
Over the next eight days, the pair extensively searched the park for the animal. They walked the trails, asked fellow park users to keep an eye out, and enlisted the help of boat owners to check for the wayward dog near the lake’s shores.
“We had fantastic support,” said Wall. “The community really came together.”
“On Tuesday, Chris actually met a guy who was doing a hike from Raven Lodge to Castle Craig. He was nice enough to hike up with Chris and keep him company and keep an eye out for Beira. He continued on his hike and said if he found her he would cut his trip short and bring her back.”
Besides walking the park’s trails, the desperate dog owners also turned to social media for help and created a Facebook group, "Find Beira."
After the eighth day of fruitless searching, the pair formed a plan to attract Beira by cooking bacon near the last location she was seen.
“We planned to go up as soon as we could and cook bacon near the last confirmed sighting,” reads an update on the Facebook group.
“What dog doesn't LOVE bacon?”
Once the bacon hit the pan, now nine days after Wall was separated from her dog, Beira emerged from the dense brush a long way from her owner.
Without trying to spook the scared dog away, Wall coaxed Beira towards her just as Chris was returning to the makeshift cooking station after searching the nearby area.
According to Wall, Beira returned to her family some eight pounds lighter, but otherwise unharmed. By Friday of last week, she had already regained four of those lost pounds.
“I can’t say again how lucky we were to have the support of the community as far down as Victoria and even over to Vancouver,” said Wall.
“I guess the biggest thing is if you do lose your dogs, don’t give up. Reach out for resources that can help you with the information and with a little bit of luck you can get reunited.”
