Homeless man’s dog returned safely after three weeks
Tips from passersby and photos of Cutiepie help lead to reunion
Cutiepie the dog has been reunited with her owner.
Late last month the fluffy, white American Eskimo pooch had vanished from the makeshift home she shares with her owner Dave M. out front of the Hudson’s Bay store on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver.
Dave, who declined to give his full last name, said he had left his beloved dog with his belongings while he used the washroom May 24 and when he returned, she was gone.
Shortly after Postmedia News first reported the story, Dave started getting tips from passersby. In one instance, an international exchange student came up to Dave and showed him photographs they had snapped of a dog on a SkyTrain car around the time of her disappearance.
It was Cutiepie, Dave said with conviction. From those photos he knew she was with someone.
Eventually, the tips that came in bore fruit, and last week the dog was returned to Dave in perfect health. She was freshly bathed and had supped on kibble and canned tuna and salmon before she went home.
“I’m very blessed to have her back,” Dave said Sunday. “I got my dog back and that’s all I ever asked for.”
Dave said he gave Cutiepie some beef jerky when she came home. She was very hungry, but probably because she was stressed, he said.
Dave said people walking by are happy to see her back. “Everybody knows Cutiepie,” he said.
What happened, according to an account from the person who had Cutiepie, was they believed the dog had been abandoned when they saw her without any owner present. Cutiepie hadn’t been leashed at the time. Several days after taking the dog home they learned that she was, in fact, well-missed and wanted at home very badly.
On Sunday, when a Postmedia photographer met with Dave, Cutiepie was on a leash and bore a big doggie grin.
Dave said he wanted to thank everyone who helped by keeping an eye out for Cutiepie. “It might have been a different outcome if it wasn’t for everyone’s help. I’m very thankful for that,” he said.
The B.C. SPCA is among the groups that provide services to help those living on the streets care for their pets. The society offers a range of necessary goods and services, including veterinary care, through its Charlie’s pet foodbank initiative. It’s a volunteer-run program and relies on donations.
The most-needed donations are unopened wet or dry pet food, cat litter and hay for small pets. Those goods can be dropped off at the society’s Vancouver branch.
Cash donations can be given at any branch and donors can earmark their gifts for Charlie’s pet food bank if they wish.
Anyone interested in helping the SPCA can call 1-855622-7722.