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
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
'Ninja,' Twitch's biggest streamer, is diagnosed with skin cancer
American gamer and Twitch superstar, Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins, revealed he was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Here's what Trudeau says the upcoming federal budget will offer renters
The federal government will create a new 'Canadian Renters' Bill of Rights,' which would require landlords to disclose their properties' rental price history to prospective tenants.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.