By Sheldon Spackman

Neighbours hurting ‘Mission’ to bring in stray dog, expert says

Dec 28, 2018 | 12:15 PM

Red Deerians are being strongly encouraged to not feed or approach a stray dog in the city’s Deer Park neighbourhood.

Darlene Burt with Calgary-based K9 Recovery Service says they are working with City of Red Deer Animal Services Department to help capture the dog and return it to its rightful owner.

Burt says ‘Mission’ has been roaming the area since escaping from his owner on Dec. 10, 2017.

“We have a tendency to be emotionally involved when it comes to stray or lost dogs,” explains Burt. “This dog has been on its own for over a year now. As a community, we can come together and work at getting this dog in but we have to work together and not against each other.”

Burt says her efforts in capturing and reuniting Mission with his owner are being hampered by a few in the neighbourhood ignoring requests to not feed the dog.

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“We have to stop feeding him in independent locations, we need to set up one location,” says Burt. “It’s very important to bring him in. People have asked, ‘Why not leave him out there and let him live as a coyote?’, but he doesn’t have those kinds of skills but yet he is a survivor.”

Burt says she and his owner do not want to leave Mission out there and would like to see him returned.

“If it is confirmed to be the dog that we think it is, he is tattooed and we can verify ownership by that tattoo at such time that we catch him,” explains Burt. “I spoke with the potential owner and she reiterated to me how the dog came to be here. She does not live local, she was in the process of re-homing this dog for whatever her reasons were and upon delivery of that dog to its new home, the dog escaped and has been on the run ever since.”

Burt stresses the importance of not leaving food out for Mission.

“They should not be trying to engage with him,” exclaims Burt. “We have no idea truly how his behavior will be if he is confronted or if he’s backed into a corner per say. We have to treat him as a feral dog.”

Burt says her experience with Mission is that he is not vicious but in order to catch him, a soft approach needs to be taken.

“We have to leave him alone and we have to do things on a quiet scale for this dog, on his terms,” Burt explains. “Just ignore him, he will come back to a feeding station. He has always come back to a feeding station when he has not been confronted.”

For residents seeking an update on Mission’s status, Burt says she generally knows where he is at most times.

“I have been here continually for the last three weeks and I can tell you where he is right now,” states Burt. “Please leave him alone, please do not go to his safe spaces, if you know he’s there, go around him, leave him alone, just ignore him, do not feed him, I need him hungry in order to catch him. If people stop feeding him, this could be over in a week.”

Burt points-out yellow fencing panels for a potential enclosure, could certainly help in her efforts to capture Mission.

To contact Darlene Burt, email news@rdnewsnow.com or call 403-342-6397.