At 5 a.m., damp with dew, Mike Chapman lay in the grass and waited. His backpack contained emergency rations, a compass and baggie of dehydrated liver treats. In his back pocket, he carried a photo of a paw print.
On July 19, he was called to a case in New Waterford, N.S., a former mining town in Cape Breton of 7,300 people. Happy Go Lucky Boy had arrived in the region with a handler for a dog show but had bolted several days earlier. That morning in the grass marked the 10th day of the search. Chapman followed the dog into the woods for two kilometres and stayed within 15 metres of him. Then, with a slip out of sight, Happy Go Lucky was gone.Lucky is the grandson of a chow chow that produced a record 63 American Kennel Club champions. His owner is Janet Burke, an 82-year-old breeder in Fall River, Kansas, where the dogs are fed, bathed and exercised on schedule.
“The reason I let him go to a show in ‘Caperton’ or ‘Cape Breton’ or whatever you call it is that Jo-Anna Parker said she would like to have one of my dogs in Canada that she would like to show,” Burke said. “She failed me.” She reported the incident to the SPCA, then drove back to Yarmouth to ensure her son and grandson had groceries and to bring her other three dogs home. She would return to New Waterford three days later, but in the meantime Facebook users attacked her for leaving.
Chapman had chronic pain after a back injury while serving in the air force, which led him to retire early. In February 2018, a couple in Kingston, N.S., lost their basset hound, Kevin. Chapman heard about the case, and he began looking, having done search and rescue in the past. He has never stopped looking.
He made 12 signs with neon Bristol board. “Immediately get posters made — huge posters, grab-your-eye kind of posters. Don’t be cheap,” he said. “If you don’t make it this way, you are not going to get your dog back.” Chapman and McKinnon set the trap on the lawn of residents Kathy and Gerald Power. Another couple, Susan and Alex Brenna, helped Chapman do his laundry, and other residents let him prowl their lawns in the night.“I’ve got to change. My uncle died. I’ll just be a few minutes.”“Mike, he’s dead,” said McKinnon. “I can’t help my uncle, but I can help Lucky.’”
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