Emotional search continues for missing dog that fled attack on vehicle in Victoria
Rebecca Ellis' dashcam captures the last moments she spent with her dog.
She and her two dogs were sitting in their parked van on Pembroke Street in downtown Victoria waiting for her partner, Alex, to get off work on Friday night.
That's when Ellis heard screaming and saw a man approaching.
"I heard the vehicle behind me getting smashed," she told CTV News on Monday.
The man was on a rampage with a hammer, smashing car windows in the area. He would go on to smash the rear and side windows of Ellis' van.
"My driver's side window beside us got smashed out. So quickly, Camper (my dog) and I fled the vehicle," said Ellis.
Ellis and Camper ran in terror, but when they turned a corner and bumped into a Victoria police cruiser, Ellis stopped while Camper kept running.
Moments later, VicPD officers arrested the man, who is now facing recommended charges of mischief and assault with a weapon.
However, Camper is still missing, roughly 72 hours after the frightening encounter occurred.
"I'll do anything to get her back. She's my life," said owner Alex Painter. "We're just so worried about her right now. We've been searching the entire city."
The two-year-old female pit-terrier cross has been spotted in multiple places around Victoria, including Fairfield, the Ross Bay Cemetery, on Dallas Road, and near Beacon Hill Park.
Volunteer search groups say the dog's ability to move makes it hard to track down.
"It's a challenge because it's downtown and there a lot of traffic and that's always a concern," said Judy Carroll with ROAM (Reuniting Owners with animals Missing).
"She's not a slow dog so when she wants to go somewhere she's gone," Painter said.
Camper's owners continue to search for their missing pet, and say they're grateful for the help that they've received from the community.
"Complete strangers are taking time out of their day. Hours and hours, days and days," said owner Alex Painter.
"We're just hoping that she has food and that she's safe," said Ellis.
If you see Camper, you're asked to call ROAM at 778-977-6260 or 778-977-6265, or call the number on Camper's collar.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.