Atlas and his owner Taylor Galt are pictured in this photo posted to Facebook on March 10, 2019.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Taylor Galt
March 14, 2019 - 2:49 PM
KELOWNA - Atlas the golden retriever is usually a grazer-type of eater, but according to Kelsey Galt, he ate two full bowls of food last night and was still hungry. She suspects Atlas wasn't fed properly by whoever stole him last Saturday.
Atlas, the dog whose happy face was posted on countless social media pages, was returned to his owner on March 13 after being stolen from his Kelowna backyard on March 9. Now that he's back home, police are continuing their investigation into who stole him.
Kelsey Galt said someone called her father Ian Galt a few days ago saying their co-worker at a company in Penticton had Atlas. The next day a man called Ian claiming to have Atlas. He asked to meet her brother Taylor Galt and her father in Penticton to collect the $5,000 reward Taylor offered on Facebook in exchange for Atlas' return.
Kelsey said her father and brother, who were in contact with police throughout the process, arranged to meet with the man who had Atlas in Penticton. Instead, police officers intervened and retrieved Atlas.
Police aren't releasing any more information, but Kelsey said the police are questioning the man, who has not been identified, about how he came into possession of Atlas. She said the man is believed to be connected to an unidentified woman who was caught on video stealing Atlas from Taylor's backyard.
No charges in the case have been laid yet.
Kelsey said her family finally got a good night's rest for the first time since Atlas went missing.
"It was one of the most happy times of our lives," she said.
She thanked everyone who shared the post about Atlas' capture.
"It was a community effort," she said. "Keep posting this way when dogs go missing."
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News from © iNFOnews, 2019