Family reunited with long-lost dog
Blue, the border collie missing for more than a year, is back where he belongs.
“We got super lucky,” said Sheffield Mills resident Aaron Taylor. “We’re just going to enjoy (our time with) him and count our lucky stars that we got him back.”
On Oct. 24, 2021, Blue was let out on a windy evening before the family turned in for the night. When Blue wasn’t at the door a few moments later as normal, Taylor called for him and then got in his car and drove up and down the street to no avail.
“In the morning, he still wasn’t anywhere to be seen,” Taylor explained.
He posted on the Nova Scotia Lost Dog Network’s Facebook page, called the radio station and reached out to the MC Missing Animal Rescue. Mike Chapman, who runs the unregistered community service with his wife Lisa Anne Johnston, suggested putting up posters in and around the community and worked with the family to try and find Blue.
Taylor said he knocked on doors and visited barns in the area. He had friends walking the roads looking in ditches and people calling for Blue in the woods.
“The community really came together and tried to find Blue,” Taylor said.
While there was no sign of Blue, Taylor and his family, including 10-year-old Georgia, remained optimistic.
“I continued to drive around and look for him,” Taylor said. “I just had a feeling that he was still alive.”
TIP
Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months with no sign of Blue.
About a year from the day Blue went missing, Taylor received a message that Blue was living with a woman in the Sheffield Mills area. Taylor called the RCMP and went to the address where Blue was believed to be, but no one was home.
“RCMP officers began investigating the incident and made numerous attempts to positively identify the dog, to determine whether or not this was in fact the dog that was lost,” Cpl. Chris Marshall said in an email to the Annapolis Valley Register.
BREAKTHROUGH
On Jan. 12, a 22-year-old woman was arrested for an unrelated matter in the Windsor area and held in custody overnight.
Emily Victoria Marsden, of Canning, has been charged with possession of stolen property and was remanded into custody. She was scheduled to appear in Kentville provincial court on Jan. 31.
Marshall said officers learned on Jan. 13 the dog was in the possession of a family member of the woman. The family member turned the dog over to the RCMP and an officer called Taylor and said she needed to speak with him in person.
Taylor, who was dealing with another officer regarding Blue, was not sure what the latest call was about. The officer went to the door and asked for Taylor. He remembered her saying she had something for him and went back to her cruiser.
“She goes back, opens up the car door, and it was like (a scene) out of a movie. He jumps out of the car and comes running up to me, wagging his tail (and) jumps in my arms,” Taylor said. “There were tears all around.”
Blue went into the house and reunited with his family like he was just outside for a few minutes.
“He comes right in and grabs an old ball and brings it right over and drops it at my feet just like he always did,” said Taylor, noting Blue is an integral part of the family. “We just love him.”
Taylor remembered driving around before Blue’s return with Georgia, who asked if he thought Blue was still alive.
“She never gave up hope,” he said. “That’s the message to people, if you’re pet’s missing, don’t give up hope.”
Taylor said there were many people who gave of their time to try to help reunite Blue with his family while others offered hope and support.
“It all helped,” he said. “I really appreciate all the hard work from the RCMP on this.”
Taylor said having Blue microchipped played an important role in the happy ending.
“It is absolutely critical,” he said, noting it removes one person’s word against another’s.
“With the chip, it was like having a VIN number for a car.”
ANIMAL RESCUE
Chapman and Johnston have been working to reunite animals with their owners for a handful of years. They’ve worked on hundreds of cases in the Maritimes and have about a 93 per cent success rate, Chapman said. All they ask for in return is their milage to be covered.
“Basically, any lost animal, from a rat to a horse, they can call on us and we’ll go do our best to find it,” said Chapman, a Wilmot resident who retired in 2016.
“Someone directed me to an actual place where you can learn to do this … and away I went,” he said. “I’ve been at it every day literally ever since.”
The reason is simple: a love of animals.
“I can’t bear the thought of somebody’s pet being out there by themself lost,” Chapman said.
And the reward is priceless. “It’s fantastic,” he said. “The best (case scenario) is you find the dog, you bring them home and the family is ecstatic.”
Chapman said he kept in touch with Taylor, who remained committed to finding Blue.
“Aaron kept at it. He kept replacing the posters,” Chapman said. “Every time they had a lead or a phone call with a tip or something I would jump back into that case and go and help them.”
He’s happy there was a positive outcome.
“Dogs don’t forget. They’re so loyal,” he said of Blue’s response to returning home. “It tears me up. A year and a half, you think it’s over, your dog is gone. But no, he got him back.”