STOUGHTON - Tasha Bigras says her family never truly gave up hope they would find their beloved dog Bear.
Bear is her close friend Konrad Frederickson's three-year-old German shepherd mix. One evening in September, the dog went missing from Frederickson's farm outside of Stoughton.
"Bear is the sweetest dog. Not a mean bone in his body and happy to see everybody," said Bigras in an interview with the Mercury and SaskToday.
She recalled that the day Bear went missing, Frederickson was calling but the dog wasn't coming. Bigras thought Bear might be sleeping in the barn, but he didn't come home by the next morning. A frantic search ensued.
"I had done posts and I did the computer work, and Konrad did the calling around," said Bigras. "He called the SPCAs, I would say once a day everywhere until I think it was mid-November."
With each passing day, the concern grew. They thought their beloved dog might have been killed by the coyotes, but they always hoped Bear was still alive.
Then on Jan. 19, Frederickson received a call from a veterinarian in Toronto, saying they had Bear at their clinic. A microchip enabled the dog to be traced back to Stoughton. But before they could celebrate and start planning a reunion, they needed proof it was indeed Bear.
"She sent us a video and the picture and it was Bear, looking as beautiful as ever," said Bigras. "So now, we're excited and we're happy, but at the same time, we're stunned and shocked and we're just stressed trying to get everything together."
Also shocked was the person who had adopted Bear, and Bigras said they had found out what happened and how Bear wound up in Canada's largest city.
Bigras said the person thought Bear was a stray dog upon seeing him in September. The man thought Bear was too nice of a dog to take to an animal shelter, and he didn't want to see Bear euthanized in case nobody picked him up. So, the man kept Bear and took him to Toronto, where the dog has been staying with the man's mother.
They aren't able to help with the cost of getting Bear home.
"Either way, we're going to get him," said Bigras, who wants the reunion to happen as soon as possible. "I do have family in Toronto, and they've offered to do the footwork, but we're having problems with the vet in Toronto right now with the paperwork."
She noted Frederickson has been waiting to hear from the vet's office in Toronto. If the vet gives good news, then work can begin on the paperwork to bring Bear home, and he could be back in Saskatchewan within a couple of days.
They have also looked at the possibility of flying to Toronto and bringing him home themselves.
Bear was eight months old when Frederickson adopted him a couple of years ago, and he had been living at the farm for a couple of years when he vanished. But he quickly became part of the family.
"Konrad also has cats and they sleep together. Bear's best friends with my dog Jasper and … when they're together, they play. I've never seen him get mean."
Right now, Bigras said they're drained and stressed and they just want Bear home.
