West Shore RCMP are investigating after a dog was reportedly stolen from Langford yard.
The dog, a bluetick coonhound named Lily, was taken from a home in the 1700-block of Falcon Heights Road Wednesday night between 10:30 and 11 p.m., police said in a news release.
Investigators who went to the house found that the fence was damaged and a bag of food, most likely used to lure the dog from the yard, was left at the scene.
Karen Emerson, Lily's owner, told CTV News she and her husband were woken up by barking after 10 p.m. When Lily kept barking, he went downstairs to the six-foot enclosure and found Lily was missing from her pen. Emerson's brother who was staying with the couple found the Ziploc bag of dog food beside the pen, and noticed the fence had been bent.
"For someone to lift her over [the fence], it would have had to have been a couple," she said. "Lily's one of [my husband's] lead dogs as well, so she's the best performing dog out of the bunch."
Lily is described as an eight-year-old female bluetick hound weighing 85 pounds, with light brown paws, a mostly black coat containing patches of white and two white spots on the top of her head.
She has an identification tattoo in her ear reading "W238C." One of her ears has a slight cut in it, according to police. She was wearing a pink collar when she was taken.
Emerson said Lily is one of five hounds that the couple uses for hunting, and that she barks often as they live in a rural area with wildlife. Still, she's not sure who would want to take her or why.
"She's a big suck to us, however she is a very good guard dog so it's really surprising," said Emerson. "I'm really surprised that whoever took them wouldn't have a bite mark on them."
Police want to talk to anyone who witnessed the dognapping or has information on the dog's whereabouts. They are asked to call West Shore RCMP at 250-474-2264 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Emerson said anyone with tips can also contact her directly at 250-812-0763.
