A dog running loose in the city’s Deer Park area is still on the run.
The German shepherd is described as medium or large, black in colour with tan spots and long hair.
Sgt. Duane Thomas with Alberta Animal Services said the biggest issue with the skittish pooch is he won’t come near anybody. But slowly, the dog is “warming up” to a couple of agency volunteers.
“He is starting to trust a little bit, which is making it a little bit easier.”
The agency is still having issues with interference: food being put out by Red Deerians, Thomas said.
“That’s why the traps haven’t been working. He won’t have anything to do with them still… So our option is to work with the dog and form trust and bond.”
He explained the dog is afraid and has anxiety, so it’s difficult to determine when the agency will be able to capture him. Thomas is urging Red Deerians to not feed the animal. That way, it will be easier to catch him.
There’s a possibility the dog has been on his own for more than a year.
There were reports of another missing dog in the Riverside Meadows area around December of last year – also a German shepherd that looks like the Deer Park area dog.
“There’s some information out there that maybe, possibly, it’s a dog that’s been roaming loose for about a year now, but we can’t verify that until we apprehend the animal,” he said.
Thomas said the agency gets “zero reports” of the dog running around during the day. Animal services has figured out the animal hides in the woods during the day and only comes out at night.
He said the dog could survive the winter, much like coyotes do, but eventually, enduring cold weather wears on animals.
mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com
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