Sunshine, missing pregnant pooch, found safe and sound
Dog travelled from Stonewall to north of Selkirk to Petersfield, and all the way back again
After seven days on the lam, Sunshine the pregnant pooch is back with her foster family.
"She had a check-up at Stonewall Veterinary Hospital and other than having lost some weight, she is in good condition. We did an X-ray and there are 11 puppies still inside, due any day now," says a posting on the Facebook page for Manitoba Underdogs Rescue.
The one-year-old yellow Labrador retriever was living with a foster family in Stonewall, north of Winnipeg, when she ran off on March 1.
Despite being out during the stormy weather of the past few days, Sunshine made it through relatively unscathed. She just seems a little sleepy and hungry.
The Manitoba Underdogs Rescue crew, Sunshine's foster family and other volunteers spent many hours tracking the dog's movements, based on tips sent in from people who spotted her.
"Sunshine is an amazing dog who managed to travel from Stonewall, to north of Selkirk, Petersfield and all the way back. She weathered warm weather, rain, and the terrible storm we had yesterday and overnight," the Facebook post says.
On Tuesday night, while searchers were plotting the sightings on a map and trying to determine a pattern, Sunshine sneaked into a trap that had been set up for her near the Stonewall foster home. She stole the food and got away again without triggering the device.
She did it again early Wednesday morning.
The fresh snow allowed the searchers to follow Sunshine's tracks to a space under the foster home's sunroom. A volunteer was able to crawl in and slip a collar onto her.
"The rest, [as] they say, is history," the Facebook post says.
Safe and warm and catching up on some sleep, Sunshine is now resting in her foster home, soon to be a mom.