Vancouver Woman Reunites With Dog After Three Years Apart (Video)

The 13-year-old Havanese Cuban sheep dog Daisy was reunited with her tearful owner Terra McCabe at the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport Friday afternoon, more than three years after she went from her family West End Vancouver home.

Daisy’s owner says the dog was stolen while tied up outside a grocery store in Vancouver’s West End in September of 2013 – and hasn’t been seen since.

“I checked in with all the animal services and SPCA but I was pretty sure she was taken. I kind of just went into depression.”

So imagine her surprise when, on December 7 of this year, she got a phone call from Winnipeg Animal Services.

“So shocked. It’s really a crazy story because we were supposed to fly out on the 7th and our flight was cancelled and we were sent back home. I got the call when I was at home, and if I wasn’t at home I would have never gotten that call. I would have been on airplane mode for the next week. When they called me I said, ‘Can I see some pictures? Can I Facetime with her?’ Nobody knows how she ended up here.”

Turns out, she was spotted wandering around Winnipeg right as winter truly arrived in the city.

“It was a stray dog running the streets of Winnipeg, found by a local resident,” explained Leland Gordon with Animal Services. “She went into a vet clinic and was then transported to animal services for care. We gave her a light grooming and put a microchip in the dog.”

They were able to trace Daisy’s ownership back to Vancouver because she had an identification tattoo.

“I have to reiterate to dog and cat owners, put every form of identification on your pet that you can,” Gordon implored. “The tattoos, the microchips and the licenses, because you never know. With more ID, the better chance you’re going to have to get your pet back to you.”

Daisy and Terra were reunited at Winnipeg’s airport Friday afternoon. It was a very emotional reunion for Terra, who had never been to Winnipeg before.

“So grateful for whoever turned her in, just really happy to see her again,” a tearful McCabe said. “So glad she’s alive. She looks different, she’s aged, but now that I’m holding her and looking at her closer, I know that it’s her.”

Grateful for the good fortune that brought them back together, McCabe promises she and her determined little Daisy will savour every minute together from now on.

Agencies/Canadajournal