Freckles heads home after thoroughly exploring Fernie and surrounds

It took dozens of volunteers, significant amounts of time and money, many sleepless nights and a professional dog catcher, but Freckles the dog was finally caught near Fernie last week.

Freckles, who is a one-year-old Saint Bernard cross, had been on the run from the volunteers at Twin Meadows Animal Rescue for 18 days after he escaped from his foster home in Ridgemont.

Co-directors of Twin Meadows, Nycki Wannamaker and Puneet Grewal said that the successes that brought Freckles back to safety was all thanks to the community effort.

“He would not be here if it wasn’t for the community,” said Wannamaker, explaining that every call-in, every tip received over Facebook and every little bit of information helped her and others actively searching for Freckles to figure out where he had been and where he was going.

Among locations such as the Alpine Trails and the Cedars, Freckles was spotted as far as the Lizard Creek bridge construction site to the south, and beside the highway on the way up to Hosmer to the north.

Wannamaker said that Freckles was in full flight-mode for most of his adventure. “He was not coming near people.”

While in flight mode, dogs are only interested in getting away from unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells - so not being from Fernie, Freckles had a long way to go.

Freckles, who has now completed a comprehensive tour of Fernie, has had enough of the resort municipality and has returned home to Kimberley. Besides being skinny and tired after so long on the run, Wannamaker reported that he was in good health upon his capture.

Wannamaker thanked the efforts of the community, the Elk Valley RCMP and K9 Recovery Services in catching Freckles.

Finding a dog like Freckles doesn’t come cheap, nor does running an operation like Twin Meadows Animal Rescue.

Unfortunately the volunteer-based organization can’t support itself without donations to help cover expenses both past and future. The full operation to track and capture Freckles is estimated to have been around $1,000.

To ensure animals in the Elk Valley can get the same dedication Freckles did, please donate to Twin Meadows Animal Rescue. The organization works to find foster and furever homes for animals throughout the Elk Valley. For details on how you can donate, contact them via email at twinmeadowsanimalrescue@gmail.com.