Search continues for dog lost on highway while under kennel care

A Pasadena couple is devastated after a kennel owner lost their dog on the side of the highway, but say they are thankful for the support of those helping with the search effort.

This is a professional kennel service that you put your trust into. And it's not free, we had to pay for this.- Todd Hinks

Todd Hinks was working in St. John's when he asked his wife Ericka to join him for the weekend. 

Before she left town, she put their pet boxer Luke in a Pasadena kennel so she wouldn't have to drive across the island with him in the truck.

Escape from the crash

After a great weekend with his family, Hinks got a text message from the kennel owner late Sunday night asking him to call right away. That's when he learned the owner had been in an accident near Sheppardville earlier that day. Luke had escaped from the vehicle on the highway and was missing.

"Fortunately, no one was hurt," Hinks told the Corner Brook Morning Show. "But, unfortunately, Luke got away."

Desperate search

The couple left first thing Monday morning to drive to the site where Luke got away. They arrived at the location of the accident around 2 p.m. After combing the area and talking to police, they saw no sign of the dog.

Some friends and family from Pasadena joined in on the search, and Hinks said after word got out through the media, there were even strangers who came from all over western Newfoundland to help them look for Luke.

As of Tuesday, the couple still hadn't seen any sign of the boxer. They said they are starting to worry about his safety.

Despite the agony of their dog being missing, Hinks said the support has been incredible and even pointed to the fact that a gas station employee they spoke to at Springdale Junction took time out of his day to help.

"When he got off work he actually came and joined in the search as well," Hinks said. "So it's been crazy like that."

Search tips

Hinks said he's also been contacted by a group called Canine Recovery, which gave him some advice about searching for a scared dog in the woods, such as bringing old clothes to the scene with the couple's scent on it.

"He mentioned that anyone out looking for Luke, especially strangers, should not call out to him," he said. "Because it's a strange voice and … if he hears unfamiliar voices, it will push him away even further."

As they frantically search for their beloved dog, Hinks and his wife can only question why Luke was taken in a car on the highway in the first place. He's been told the kennel owner was taking the dog to their cabin, but didn't inform Hinks or his wife beforehand. 

He said Ericka even had to sign a waiver saying the dog was allowed to be taken for a walk, so he wonders why the kennel owners deemed it OK to bring him to a cabin, and why they weren't told about what had happened until late that night.

"Ericka could have easily put the dog in the truck and [taken] him to St. John's," Hinks said. 

"This is a professional kennel service that you put your trust into. And it's not free. We had to pay for this."