Pit Bull from Toronto Humane Society missing from New Brunswick shelter

Some unfortunate news arrived yesterday about Dano, one of the Pit Bulls pulled from the Toronto Humane Society and sent to the Saint John Animal Rescue League in New Brunswick.

From the Telegraph-Journal Pit bull missing from shelter:

The dog has been missing since Sunday afternoon, when two women who appeared interested in adopting the animal took him for a walk.

"Their story is the dog saw a cat and took off," said Janet Foster, executive director of the shelter on Taylor Avenue.

At first the shelter staff thought the dog had been stolen and they called police.

"The staff were driving for hours looking for the dog," she said. "It's like it's disappeared off the face of the Earth."

Only registered volunteers with the rescue league are permitted to walk dogs, but a junior employee allowed the women to take the dog, named Dano, into the parking lot, Foster said.

and

Dano was one of two gentle pit bull-mix dogs brought in from the Toronto Humane Society, Foster said. It was clear they had been well-trained by good families.

"This is a very gentle dog. He's wonderful," she said

And now that Dano's story has made the news, someone's called into the shelter saying he's seen the dog but wants a reward before he'll pass on any information.

Can you say scumbag?

From the Telegraph-Journal:

Someone has spotted Dano the pit bull, but they want a reward, says the executive director of the Animal Rescue League.

"I just feel so upset and frustrated," Janet Foster said Wednesday, three days after the dog went missing from the north end animal shelter. "I feel so helpless right now."

The individual, a male, called the shelter to say he had seen the dog, which was brought in last week from Ontario, where pit bulls born after 2005 are euthanized.

The dog was seen on MacLaren Boulevard being walked at 8 p.m. Tuesday night and 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, Foster said.

"But they wouldn't leave their last name and they wanted a reward. So we're no further ahead," she said because the animal shelter won't pay a reward.

If one person has seen the dog then someone else will surely see the dog as well. There's been some great success stories in Toronto recently with lost dogs being found in large part through postings on social media sites and feet on the streets. Let's hope the people looking for Dano persevere and get him back.

photo by Melanie