Nanaimo lost dog captured after 73 days on the loose
A four-year-old border collie has been captured after 73 days on the loose on Vancouver Island, much to the relief of a volunteer organization that was tracking the animal’s movements.
Jill Oakley, owner of Find Lost and Escaped Dogs Vancouver Island (FLED), says Rigby took off from his Nanaimo foster home on Jan. 25 and experienced a harrowing journey before he was caught by volunteers on April 9.
“He went from Nanaimo to Cedar to Cassidy back to Nanaimo, up to Parksville and back to Nanaimo,” Oakley says.
Oakley believes Rigby followed the railroad tracks a lot of the time. She isn’t sure how he managed to avoid being hit by vehicles during his many days on the run.
She says the first four years of Rigby’s life were not good.
“He was in a hoarding situation in Denver, Colorado, and came out with 60 dogs," she says. "He was seized by authorities down there, that’s the story we got."
He was brought to Nanaimo and was adopted to a home and lasted eight days before taking off on Jan. 25.
“We were called on the 26th and we had been tracking him all this time," she says. "Several times we thought we had him when he came into Cassidy and when he went into a farmer’s field."
The FLED group sets up feeding stations and traps with cameras to try to capture the animals.
“We thought we had him for sure in February, for sure, but he outwitted us,” she says.
Rigby was also captured on a doorbell camera at the beginning of April in the driveway of a home.
“That is what’s so tough," she says. "You see him and then you get everybody ready to go and you get your equipment up there and ready to go and he’s gone. It was really a tough case."
Now that he is safely back in human hands, Oakley says her group will try to calm Rigby down. He will also have vet and grooming appointments later this week.
“He’s been a little freaky boy ever since he got here," she says. "If I gave him the chance he would be gone again. He’s in that kind of mode right now. He’s a complicated little soul."
Oakley is calling Rigby the group’s latest success story, proving that owners should never give up on their missing animals, she says.
“He’s like the Littlest Hobo," she says. "We had five just amazing volunteers helping us out up in Nanaimo and if it wasn’t for them I don’t know that we would have been able to track him as good as we did."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.