The frantic search for six dogs believed to have been stolen from a pickup truck in Langley last week has come to a tragic end.
Alesha and Al MacLellan of Petsearchers Canada, who have been helping the distraught owners track down the missing pooches, said the dog walker who had been taking care of the dogs admitted on Monday that the animals died from heat exhaustion in the back of her truck.
The woman told them she had left the side vent window of the canopy truck open and that water was available to the animals, said Alesha MacLellan, but that sometime during their outing, all six dogs perished in the heat of the day.
鈥淯nfortunately, she panicked and opted to concoct a story to cover the missing dogs,鈥� MacLellan told The Province.
Langley RCMP confirmed Monday evening that the six dogs died after likely being left in a vehicle for a period of time.
Their bodies have been recovered from Abbotsford by the SPCA, who will be performing necropsies to determine the exact cause of death.
No charges have been laid at this time, but Cpl. Holly Marks said police are continuing its investigation into public mischief charges, said Marks.
The dogs were reported stolen from the dog walker鈥檚 secured canopy truck near 206th Street and 44th Avenue last Tuesday. The dog walker said she left to use a restroom and that upon her return 10 minutes later, the canopy was unlatched and the dogs were gone.
The reported theft of the animals, dubbed the Brookswood 6, gained widespread media coverage and triggered an outpouring of support, including cash rewards, an online donation drive, and a rally at a Langley dog park.
The mysterious disappearance had raised questions, including how a large pack of dogs can vanish so quickly without being seen or heard by witnesses.
The dog walker鈥檚 own dog, Salty, was among the deceased animals. The other dogs were Mia, a 15-month-old pit bull; Oscar, a six-year-old Rottweiler-husky mix; Buddy, a Boston terrier, Molly, a five-year-old German shepherd-blue heeler cross; and Teemo, a poodle-Bouvier mix.
The owners were devastated by the news, said MacLellan.
鈥淭here鈥檚 always that sliver of hope,鈥� she said. 鈥淯ntil we talked to them today, we were also hopeful that if something bad had happened to some of the dogs, maybe one or two were hidden away somewhere safe. It鈥檚 pretty devastating that all six have perished.鈥�
Louise Scott, who had been hopeful her dog Molly will find her way back to their Delta home, was distraught when she learned of the animals鈥� fate from her neighbour, the Kings, whose dog Teemo also went missing.
鈥淭hey said they鈥檙e all dead,鈥� said Scott, 80, who had Molly for four years. 鈥淚鈥檓 too upset to say anything.
鈥淎nd I鈥檓 very, very mad,鈥� she said. 鈥淎ngry is the word.鈥�
Eric Ortner and Jennifer Myers also lost their dog, Buddy, who would鈥檝e turned two next Monday. Said Ortner, who declined an interview: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a hell of a crazy week and to have it end like this ...,鈥� his voice trailing off.
An online donation drive to help find the dogs has raised more than $2,800. The money will instead be used to cover appropriate services for the animals.
The SPCA says this serves as a tragic reminder of the dangers of leaving dogs in vehicles during warm weather.
"Each year we attend hundreds of calls to rescue dogs in distress in hot cars," said spokeswoman Lorie Chortyk. "Animals can suffer brain damage and death in as little as 10 minutes in a hot car, even with windows left open. The SPCA issues this warning repeatedly in warm weather in the hopes of averting such tragedies but sadly, we still continue to see animals left in hot cars."
