Residents of rural Manitoba are looking for answers after a string of dog disappearances in just a month.
"Something's going on," official Greg Janzen of the Municipality of Emerson-Franklin told CTV Winnipeg, noting up to nine dogs have been reported missing since November in the areas of Roseau River, Stuartburn, Emerson and Vassar. "There are people driving around that are looking for opportunities it seems like.”
For Roseau River resident Jennifer Andrusyk's young akita, it means the loss of a companion on long walks. Andrusyk's seven-month-old mastiff Bandit vanished recently while she was at work.
"It was just like any other day. I got up in the morning, went to work and came home and the dog wasn't home," she told CTV Winnipeg.
Andrusyk, who plans to file a police report, searched properties in the area before taking to social media for help and soon after learned that she wasn't alone -- other owners in the area mysteriously lost their dogs too.
A Facebook page called Winnipeg Lost Dog Alert Inc. dedicated to sharing information about missing companions in the area as well as some happy reunions posted a photo of Bandit last month that has since been shared more than 300 times on the site.
Officials with the Emerson-Franklin Municipality, issued a public notice to residents recently warning them of the increase in reports about missing dogs, which they say were all large breeds such as mastiffs, St. Bernards and labs. Each of the reports claimed the dogs were stolen from the owner's property, sometimes during daylight, and in some cases the dogs went missing from their kennels overnight.
"We want people to be aware," municipality reeve Janzen told CTV Winnipeg. "Keep an eye out on your pets, especially if you're close to a highway."
The words of warning are too late for owners like Andrusyk, who has had no sign of Bandit, the second dog she has lost in the last year alone.
"We had him as a puppy," she said. "We all grew attached to him."
