Image Credit: SUBMITTED

A dog that went missing from its home in Peachland over a month ago was found in a trap and then lost again, but a community of volunteers is not giving up the search for her.

Vera the boxer left her home in the Trepanier area of Peachland on June 26. She was later reportedly spotted by the public in the Glenrosa neighbourhood of West Kelowna, then spotted again running on the Coquihalla Highway.

Peachland resident Shannon Gallivan has been helping with the search since the beginning, as Vera’s owner is working long hours so currently has limited availability. Gallivan also owns a boxer, so when she saw a photo of the missing dog, she was immediately inclined to help.

“It is a bit complicated,” Gallivan said. “I initially responded to a social media post about a different boxer named Jersey that went missing from Merritt. It was only through learning about Jersey that I found the story about Vera being missing from Peachland.”

Gallivan says Vera was missing for 34 days until there was a confirmed sighting near Merritt. With assistance from Angel’s Animal Rescue, a live humane trap was set up on July 30 and caught her. Vera was brought safely to the rescue but escaped again at 4 a.m. the following day.

“She has not been seen since,” Gallivan said. “We have put the word out on several media platforms, knocked on doors and handed out flyers. We are asking the public to keep their ears and eyes open, to send in video footage and call in to report sightings.”

It has now been five days since Vera was last seen. She is believed to be somewhere in the Lower Nicola Valley. Gallivan wants to make it very clear to the public if they see the dog not to chase it, call the number on the poster.

“She is very frightened and thin, if you call her, she will run,” she said. “Dogs who have been gone for this long go back to a feral state, so she will likely need to be trapped again. The terrain in the Lower Nicola Valley is very different than the residential places she is used to, she will be in fight or flight mode.”

Gallivan says Vera tends to travel at night. She asks others to review their surveillance videos.

“We really need to get the word out," she said. “Our team has been fabulous working together to bring her back to safety. I can’t let her fend for herself. We have steps in place to humanely trap her and get her to vet care immediately. But we cannot do anything until we get news of a sighting. I can’t walk away knowing she is out there.”

Both Jersey and Vera and are still missing. Please call 250-470-7353 if you have any information.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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