Monday, July 19, 2010

Laser, beagle

Lost dog makes six-week trek home
Last Updated: Friday, July 9, 2010

It took him six weeks after slipping his leash, but Laser the beagle has made a remarkable 80-kilometre journey back to his home in Winnipeg.

Laser has been reunited with the LePage family after six weeks on the run.

Parry LePage and his family were at their cottage in Winnipeg Beach on May 22 when Laser got free from his leash after being spooked by a fireworks display. The cottagers, who live in the Winnipeg suburb of Transcona, searched the beach communities north of the Manitoba capital for their dog, but Laser was not to be found.

Laser has been reunited with the LePage family after six weeks on the run. (CBC)The family had adopted the three-year-old beagle from Winnipeg's humane society about a month earlier, and the dog quickly bonded with the LePage family.

On July 5, something remarkable happened: Laser was spotted in a schoolyard just two kilometres from the LePage home and taken to an animal shelter, eventually to be reunited with his adoptive family.

Parry LePage considers Laser's journey exceptional, given he was only with the family a short time before disappearing.

After travelling more than 80 kilometres, Laser was spotted in a schoolyard just two kilometres from the LePage home. (CBC)"I blamed myself when he took off — everyone was so upset," LePage said. "But we formed quite a bond with him over a short period of time."

The LePage family had plastered the Winnipeg Beach area with posters of Laser and every few days they'd receive a phone call from someone who had seen the dog. The sightings eventually got closer to Winnipeg, but no one was able to catch the dog. LePage figures Laser was finding food in the garbage and animal feed on farms between the city and the beach.

"I felt really, really excited. I couldn't believe … he finally came back after six weeks of running," said Adara LePage, 10.

After travelling more than 80 kilometres, Laser was spotted in a schoolyard just two kilometres from the LePage home.

The family members don't know who finally managed to pick Laser up and took him to the animal shelter, but they are grateful.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/07/09/mb-dog-journey-laser.html#ixzz0u5lS4PNd


Another version of the story at http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/07/10/Lost-dog-finds-way-home-to-Winnipeg/UPI-53781278810934/


Lost dog finds way home to Winnipeg
Published: July 10, 2010 at 9:15 PM

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, July 10 (UPI) -- Laser, a beagle who slipped his leash during fireworks at a Canadian lake resort found his way back to his Winnipeg neighborhood 50 miles away, his owners say.

Parry LePage, who lives in Transcona, a Winnipeg suburb, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp that he and his family adopted the 3-year-old beagle only a month before he disappeared.

The LePages were at their cottage in Winnipeg Beach, 50 miles north of the Manitoba capital on Lake Winnipeg, when Laser vanished May 22. They believe he ran off because the fireworks display scared him.

"I blamed myself when he took off -- everyone was so upset," LePage said. "But we formed quite a bond with him over a short period of time."

The family posted lost dog signs and got frequent phone calls from people who had spotted Laser. As the weeks went by, the calls began coming from areas closer to Winnipeg.

On July 5, someone managed to catch the beagle in a schoolyard near the LePage home and delivered him to a shelter that reunited him with his family.

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