Bacon can be hard to resist and so it proved for a missing mutt who returned to her owners after getting lost in the wilderness for nine days.
Kacey Wall and her partner Chris were hiking with their dog Beira in Vancouver Island's Strathcona Provincial Park on August 11 when the pair became separated from their four-legged friend.
Beira was missing for nine days despite a thorough search of the rugged backwoods by the couple and their friends.
They then turned to an organization specializing in finding lost pets, ROAM, Reuniting Owners with Animals Missing.
“The smell of cooking food is really a great incentive for a dog,” Terry Mah from ROAM told CTV News Vancouver.
The couple tried this new technique and on the second attempt they had a bacon breakthrough.
The slap of bacon sizzling on the pan brought Beira from the bush.
“That’s when I heard her bark and about 45 minutes later she came running up the road,” Wall said.
“I guess the biggest thing is if you do lose your dogs, don’t give up. Reach out for resources that can help you with the information and with a little bit of luck you can get reunited.”
ROAM recommends sticking to your car or parking lot where your dog first got lost and hopefully they’ll come back.
Mah suggested some dog owners may be looking for their pets the wrong way.
“You’re screaming, you’re yelling for your dog which is the complete opposite of what you should be doing,” he said.
Beira is off leash again and will be getting a tracking collar in the near future.
