'I'll forever be grateful': Waterloo woman reunited with dog who went missing 2 weeks ago

KITCHENER -

A Waterloo woman was reunited with her dog who went missing two weeks ago thanks to social media.

Megan Olaveson spends some time at her family cottage in North Bay several times a year. She said she always brings Quinn, her 11-year-old beagle. She said it’s normal for the pooch to go off-leash and go into the woods.

“She takes off for a couple hours but always comes back,” said Olaveson.

But on Thanksgiving weekend, when Quinn took off to explore, hours turned into days and there was no sign of Quinn.

Olaveson eventually had to return home to Waterloo, devastated and worrying the worst.

“There’s wolves, there’s coyotes, there’s bears,” she said. “(I was) crying myself to sleep that night not knowing why we’re going to do if we never got any closure.”

Two weeks later, Olaveson said she woke up to a text message from a stranger saying they thought they found her dog.

Faye Pinch, a Hamilton student, said she was camping in the area with her partner when they spotted the dog.

“It was about 15 kilometres south of where she was lost,” said Pinch.

Pinch said they heard Quinn before they saw her. At first they thought she was a wolf but then realized the dog was very domesticated.

“She was very patient and very well natured,” said Pinch.

Pinch said they could tell the dog was hungry and scared so they fed her before taking her to the North Bay Humane Society.

“She walked right up to the car and hopped in. No anxiety no nothing whatsoever,” Pinch said.

“After she dropped her off at the humane society she could’ve just left her there and called it done but she went above and beyond,” said Olaveson.

Pinch said she searched through Facebook groups in the hopes to find the owner of Quinn and that’s how she eventually got in contact with Olaveson.

“That ordeal must’ve been very traumatic,” Pinch said.

According to Olaveson, she offered Pinch a $1,000 dollar reward for finding Quinn. But Pinch only accepted part of it and suggested to spend the remaining amount on toys and treats for Quinn.

“I’m so thankful Faye went out of her way. I’ll forever be grateful,” said Olaveson.

When Quinn was just a puppy, she barely survived canine parvovirus. Her vet called her a miracle dog. After two weeks of surviving the wild her family said the 11-year-old dog earned that title once again.