Vango, a five-month-old Australian shepherd, may have played a role in his own rescue after he alerted staff at a pet store in Gatineau, Quebec about his alleged dognapping. The incident occurred when Vango visited the store with a couple who were regular customers. Despite their usual purchase of cat food, Vango was barking and trying to get the attention of staff member and dog trainer Yves Jodoin.
Jodoin became worried when the couple couldn’t provide basic information about the dog such as his age, whether he was neutered, his dietary needs and how much they paid for him. Despite giving the dog biscuits, he continued to bark. A colleague searched social media for missing dog reports and found a photo of Vango, who had been reported missing from Buckingham, Que. just two and a half hours earlier. Jodoin realized he had trained Vango as a puppy and called out his name. The dog responded and jumped with excitement, indicating that he was not the dog the couple claimed him to be.
The couple claimed that they discovered the dog in the woods. The woman stated that due to her poor health and financial constraints, she needed the dog as a support animal and wished to keep him. Jodoin, who was surrounded by witnesses at the store, persuaded the couple to give up the dog, after which he contacted the legal owner of the dog, Josรฉe Francoeur. Francoeur was emotional when she received Jodoin’s call and stated that she could not stop sobbing. According to her, the dog vanished from her enclosed yard around 9 a.m. on Monday. Despite her efforts to search for him by posting messages on various social media platforms, she could not find him. She even sought help from a police officer, who prepared an official report on the missing dog. Francoeur wondered if someone had abducted him, and she found it impossible to believe that anybody would do such a thing.
After experiencing the traumatic event of losing her dog, Francoeur’s hope was restored when she received a phone call from the people who had found him. She expressed gratitude that her beloved pet had been saved from being lost indefinitely. However, Francoeur has since filed a police report in hopes of teaching the couple who found her dog about the consequences of their actions, though she doesn’t want to cause them undue harm. Her main goal is to discourage others from stealing dogs as it can have severe repercussions. While the Gatineau police have begun investigating the matter, they are still determining whether or not charges can be pressed against the couple. SPCA de L’Outaouais, where the couple had gone to register Vango under a different name, are urging pet owners to microchip their furry friends. Francoeur has taken this advice and scheduled an appointment to get Vango microchipped, hoping that this incident never repeats itself.
