Missing Stoughton dog found in Toronto

By Mack Kohl

It was a regular day in mid-September when Tasha Bigras and her best friend left his acreage just outside of Stoughton, and the pair made the trip to Regina to do some shopping.

Bigras was shocked to find that her friend’s dog, Bear, was missing from the yard when they returned. The sweet and gentle dog did not have a history of leaving home on his own, so the two friends began their search.

A bit of investigating only turned up a set of tire tracks passing by the acreage, but no other signs of Bear could be found. It took months of posting online and hoping for somebody to spot him before a lead on Bear’s location finally came through.

“I put posts up in the lost and found pets pages for Estevan, Weyburn, and Saskatchewan. We were looking everywhere,” said Bigras. “We had heard absolutely nothing up until last Friday. That’s when we got a call from a vet in Toronto. She called us because someone had brought Bear in to get checked and he was microchipped, so they contacted us right away.”

It appeared as though this Toronto man had purchased Bear from a private seller and was doing his due diligence as a new pet owner by taking him to a vet for a checkup. While the exact events that brought Bear into his possession may never be known, the vet who discovered the microchip was not exactly surprised to find that this dog already had a home.

“Sadly, it seems very common,” said Bigras. “Usually it’s not this far out, though. Usually, the Toronto-area dogs that are brought in are supposedly from Ottawa and Montreal, not from two provinces over! We were absolutely stunned.”

With Bear located safe and sound, the difficult process of bringing him home began. Bigras said they brainstormed options since receiving the news.

They considered hiring a long-haul trucker to transport Bear and they did the math on making the drive themselves, but too many logistical hurdles led them to consider flying to Toronto and flying him home.

On Monday, Bigras posted an update on the GoFundMe page she created.

“I’m happy to say that as of a few minutes ago, everything has been set in place and Bear will be on his way home by tonight with a local farmer from where he is from,” the update read. “The funds raised (on the GoFundMe) will go towards compensating the fuel for the farmer, and a spa day for Bear, and the remaining will be donated to the SPCA.”

Bigras has been extremely thankful for the friendly and helpful pet-owner communities in southeast Saskatchewan, and all of the people who have reached out with their advice.

While chatting with other local dog owners online, one person shared their own story of how their dog went missing last summer as well. Thanks to their pet’s microchip, they received a call from a vet in Saskatoon and were reunited about a month ago. It’s an eerie coincidence.

With a plan in place to bring Bear home, Bigras hopes to soon put this crazy experience behind her.

“Pets are family,” she said. “They look after you as much as you look after them. I’m just doing what I can to get our baby back home.”

Although Bear’s story may soon end on a positive note, his is a cautionary tale. Pet owners should remain vigilant and ensure that their dogs have a working microchip with accurate contact information in case they go missing.