Rescue dog lost at airport discovered safe and sound
Emily escaped after customs officer let her out of her cage to relieve herself in open area
A rescue dog from Greece that went missing at Pearson airport Monday evening has been found.
Anastasia Somers, founder of Toronto-based rescue organization Stray Paws from Greece, said the 10-pound, 2-year-old dog named Emily escaped after customs officers let her out of her cage outside Terminal 3 to relieve herself. The area wasn’t enclosed and Emily ran off.
Emily, a Pomeranian mix, was found Tuesday morning after she was brought to a dog clinic near Pearson airport.
Somers couldn’t find the words to explain how she felt when Emily was found.
“Oh boy, there are no words to describe this feeling,” Somers said. “I died and came back to life, let me just say that.”
The new owner, Jordan Wong, told reporters he was relieved the dog was brought to safety before being injured by a car or lost indefinitely.
“I think we definitely had our doubts at times, but we definitely tried to stay positive most of the time,” he said. “It worked out in the end, and we’re really grateful.”
Wong said he and his family waited at the airport for eight hours while searchers scoured the area for Emily, but eventually had to go home without the pet they’d been eagerly awaiting for the past three weeks.
Christina DiPasquale, a veterinary technician at Richview Animal Hospital, said Emily was brought to the clinic about 7:30 p.m. Monday. The clinic is about five kilometres away from Terminal 3.
She said a couple brought the dog to the clinic after she was seen walking near the highway and was almost hit by passing cars.
DiPasquale said she tried to locate Emily’s owners with the dog’s microchip number, but it wasn’t registered.
It wasn’t until she saw multiple news reports Tuesday morning that she realized the dog was Emily, and she contacted Somers.
“It was such a great feeling. We were both on the phone crying because it’s such a stressful situation to lose a dog,” DiPasquale said.
Emily was one of five dogs that arrived at Pearson airport Monday evening from Greece. Somers said she was told by a customs officer that another officer let the dogs out to relieve themselves when Emily ran off.
“It was a horrible experience. They didn’t apologize and the customs officer wasn’t sympathetic at all.”
Wong echoed the criticism, saying his family has yet to hear from the agency over their new pet’s disappearance.
“They never spoke to us directly. They never apologized,” he said. “It’s pretty unethical for them to do something like that.”
The ordeal was trying for other families waiting to receive dogs off the flight, he added, since no one knew for some time exactly whose new pet had gone missing.
Canada Border Services Agency de- clined to offer comments on allegations from either Wong or Somers.
Wong said the family plans to take Emily to her new home as soon as possible, adding they’ve spent the past few weeks getting the house ready for her arrival.
“We’ve done so many home renovations just for her and we’re super excited to have her,” he said.