Willis ran off on Boxing Day, 2016, and his owner Robynn Ferroux is anxiously searching for him.
Image Credit: Robynn Ferroux
December 28, 2016 - 10:30 AM
VERNON - A former Vernon woman is overwhelmed by the kindness and support she’s received from complete strangers since her 10-month-old puppy went missing.
Robynn Ferroux, from Edmonton, came home to spend Christmas with her parents in Vernon. She brought her brindle pitbull Willis with her.
“He means the world to me, I’ve never loved anything so much,” Ferroux says.
Around 12:30 p.m. on Boxing Day, Dec. 26, Willis escaped from her parents’ yard in the area of 25 Street and 39 Avenue. Frantic to find him, Ferroux immediately launched a search and has been doing little else but look for him for the past three days.
Photos and a description of the missing pup were posted to local Facebook pages, including the Vernon Community Forum, and generated a landslide of tips. Aside from sightings, many people have also gone out of their way to go out and look for Willis.
“There have been people that have never met me that are helping,” Ferroux says through tears. “It is such a feeling of community. I am so hugely grateful to everyone.”
Ferroux has been tracking Willis based on recent sightings and even spotted him at 10:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 26. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get close enough to grab him before he bolted again.
“He’s already a very timid dog,” she says. “Now, he’s just terrified.”
Being from Edmonton, she says Vernon is all new territory for Willis and he has no familiarity with his surroundings. Originally due to return to Edmonton on Jan. 2, Ferroux says she will stay in Vernon until Willis is found.
She has notified dog control, the SPCA and vet offices up and down the valley and is holding out hope that someone has taken him in and doesn’t know how hard people are looking for him.
Willis was last seen wearing a red harness. He is roughly 55 lbs., dark brown in colour and has a white stripe up his nose and a white chest. He is not tattooed or neutered.
While timid, Ferroux says he might come to someone if coaxed with food.
“He’s been missing for three days, he’s probably starving,” she says.
Anyone with information can email Ferroux at rferroux@gmail.com.
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