SYDNEY, N.S. — A U.S. woman is appealing to the public for help find her two-and-a-half-year-old chow chow dog named Lucky, who bolted while in New Waterford Monday.
Janet Burke, owner of Cross B Chows Kennels in Fall River, Kansas, said her dog was in the care of Jo-Anna Parker of Yarmouth, handling him on her behalf for the Cape Breton Kennel Club Dog Show at Centre 200 in Sydney last weekend. She said Parker told her that, as her dog was being loaded onto a truck to transport him home Monday morning, he ran away.
“He is very loving but will be scared to death to be loose,” said Burke. “I’m very upset. This dog is a champion and a very sweet boy.”
She said anyone seeing Lucky should not run after him but instead squat down and call his name. He knows the word "cookie," she said.
Burke said her dog is microchipped and can be identified when at an animal shelter or veterinary clinic.
Burke said her dog’s show name is "Happy Go Lucky Boy" and he has been in many dog shows
A breeder of chows for more than 30 years, she said she has two kennels of dogs, including 50 chow chows now retired from shows that are not for sale, simply living their life out now and she takes care of them. She has 12 that are breeding dogs and has two to three litters a year.
“I raise no pets, they are show dogs.”
In the meantime, she’s worried about Lucky.
“I’m considering a plane ticket to come up there. It’s that serious.”
Parker, 62, a dog owner, breeder and handler, said she was staying with friends on MacLeod Avenue in New Waterford while attending the dog show. Parker said she had entered the dog in the show but discovered after receiving him he wasn’t ready for that. However, she took him to Centre 200 to socialize and get comfortable.
“He was too nervous to show — he was very skittish. He wasn’t ready.”
It was about 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning when she was loading Lucky onto her truck when he got away. She said they stayed until 11 a.m. trying to find him.
“I searched — in pyjamas — through the streets of New Waterford as long as I could,” she said.
“My granddaughter, 13, was very upset and running through woods trying to catch him.”
Parker said she then had no choice but to leave. She said her handler had to get home to work and she has teenage children plus six dogs at home. As well, as a veteran with a heart condition, she was scheduled to see a doctor this week.
“If I had them all with me it would have been a different story, I would have stayed right there.”
Parker said she knows the owner is upset but has to understand accidents do happen and that she does everything she can to take good care of any dog in her care.
“I do what I do for the love of the breed.”
Although now back in Yarmouth, Parker said she’s still doing what she can to find Lucky. She said she contacted the SPCA and also the Celtic Creatures Veterinary Clinic, who indicated they would notify other veterinarians in the area. Once things are settled at home, Parker said she plans to come back to Cape Breton on Friday to search for the dog.
“All I can say to anyone out there trying to help me is, ‘Thank you,’" she said.
Darren McKinnon, president of the Cape Breton Kennel Club, only found out after contacted by the Cape Breton Post Tuesday.
“My heart breaks for the dog,” he said. “I would never leave any area a dog was lost in.”
McKinnon said he’s also deeply distressed over the situation due to the breed.
“This is a very loyal breed, but it needs to know you,” he said.
After phoning around to get more details of the situation, McKinnon worked all Tuesday afternoon on searching for help and getting plans in place to find the dog.
McKinnon said the dog has a thick coat and temperatures are warm. He said if they can get a sighting then they can take buckets of water and food to that area and then make plans.
He said anyone spotting Lucky is asked not to run after him as the dog will simply be spooked and run. These dogs will usually stay within two kilometres of where they escape, he added.
“It’s not approachable,” he said. “People should just call us. We have to be very diligent and not to spook the dog out of the area he’s travelling.
People can contact McKinnon at 902-562-8873 or 902-217-7715.
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