Vango, an Australian Shepherd, might have played a key role in his own rescue by alerting staff at a pet store in Gatineau, Quebec, about his suspected abduction. Yves Jodoin, a canine trainer and employee at Au Royaume des Animaux, reported that Vango arrived at the store on Monday with a couple who usually shop there for cat food.
Jodoin recalled, “The dog was barking, nudging, and clearly desperate for attention. I became immediately suspicious because the couple couldn’t provide basic information about the dog, like his exact age, whether he was neutered, his diet, or the amount they paid for him.”
“They were evading my questions,” Jodoin said. “Even though I was giving the dog treats, he kept barking.”
Upon checking social media for reports of stolen pets, a photo of Vango appeared. The dog had been reported missing from Buckingham, Quebec, about two and a half hours earlier.
Jodoin recognized Vango right away, as he had raised the dog from a puppy. “I called out, ‘Vango, come!’ and the dog responded by jumping. He continued to bark and nudge as if to say, ‘I’m not the dog they claim I am.'”
The couple claimed they had found the dog in the woods. The woman told Jodoin she wanted to keep the dog as a support animal due to her health issues and financial constraints.
Despite being surrounded by onlookers, Jodoin insisted that the couple return the dog. He then contacted Vango’s owner, Josée Francoeur.
“I can’t talk about it without crying,” Francoeur said, emotional when discussing Jodoin’s call. She reported Vango missing at nine o’clock on Monday after letting him out into her enclosed yard. When she looked outside, Vango was gone, and he was not microchipped.
“I kept wondering, ‘Who could do such a thing?'” Francoeur said. “It seemed impossible.”
She quickly posted a missing pet alert on social media and the local SPCA’s website, and she combed the neighborhood asking everyone she met if they had seen her dog. A police officer eventually got involved and filed a formal lost dog report. Francoeur was losing hope when her phone rang with the news.
“If those people hadn’t gone to that pet store, I might have lost my dog forever,” Francoeur said.
She has since reported the couple to the police, hoping to make them aware of the gravity of their actions. “I don’t want to make them uncomfortable,” Francoeur explained. “We don’t know their motives, but they did take my dog, and I want to warn others not to do the same.”
The Gatineau police are investigating to determine if the couple intentionally stole the dog rather than finding him by mistake. Meanwhile, the SPCA de L’Outaouais, where the couple had taken Vango to register him under a new name, is using the incident to emphasize the importance of microchipping pets.
Francoeur noted, “I had planned to have Vango microchipped soon. This whole situation could have been avoided.”
