Couple’s dog found after 10 days
Max disappears after move to Port Colborne from Welland
If he had been a cat, Max would have used up eight of his nine lives.
As it is, Diane VanStroe figures her six-year-old sheltie, who went missing 10 days ago when he bolted out of their new Port Colborne home on moving day, was in his 11th hour.
On June 15, VanStroe and Tina DeGraaf moved from Welland into their new home in the east end of Port Colborne. With them was Max, who has been an indoor dog for all his life.
VanStroe said that at one point during the hustle and bustle of moving day, a couple of guys were carrying a cabinet inside. When they opened the door to get inside, Max suddenly took off.
She said the stress of the move and being in unfamiliar surroundings must have got to him, adding that in May they had to put down their shih-tzu, Tobias, who was suffering from cancer, and that Max has been missing him.
VanStroe expressed concern about Max, saying he’s not meant for the outdoors and that she wasn’t sure how well he would do.
It turns out not all that well.
On Monday at about 11:30 a.m., Niagara Regional Police were out on ATV training on the seaway trail by Netherby Road when they came across Max, or, as they initially feared, what was left of him.
Barely moving, Max was dehydrated and suffering from infection, as well as a gaping hole in his side, the origin of which is a mystery.
“He was in rough shape,” VanStroe said. “I think at that point, they thought he was dead because he (appeared) lifeless.
“But he’s alive. He’s found.” VanStroe had figured Max might have tried heading back to their Welland home — that or their trailer in Long Beach — and she figured right: he was found about five kilometres from where they used to live.
Max is now in a veterinarian’s care at West Main Animal Hospital. VanStroe hopes he’ll be able to come home — his new home — in a couple of days.
VanStroe said she can barely express the level of gratitude she has for everyone who helped bring Max home, from her employer, Mike Knapp Ford, who gave her extra time off, to the police, to animal tracking service K9 Tracker S&R, to the countless people who put up posters and called in with tips about sightings.
“The people and the support from this community has been humbling,” VanStroe said.