Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the people you have helped and supported. Operating a service available at no cost to animal owners at a time of need and hearing about your contribution from a fellow dog owner. You are well appreciated, have been successful in your mantra and are COMPLETELY APPRECIATED BY THE LIVES YOU TOUCH AND THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE YOU AVAILABLE IF NEED BE. THANK YOU FOR DEMONSTRATING THE GOOD AND GREATER GOOD IN YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY. MORE THAN 5 STARS AND A STANDING OVATION, KEEP DOING WHAT YOUR DOING. Holly B

Reuniting Owners with Animals Missing

I have loved and had dogs all my life. My partner and I just last week acquired the most beautiful standard poodle named Lena. She is three years old and she came from a lovely horse farm in Nova Scotia. Her former mom has been a breeder of standard poodles for over 30 years and she is one of my best friends. Lena had been selected to be a breeding bitch but it didn’t work out. Apparently she didn’t like male dogs! So my friend knew I was wanting a new dog after our beloved standard died a few months ago. And she offered us Lena and we jumped at the chance. Lena had only been with us for TWO days when she was lost. On Thursday Nov 2nd she flew from Halifax to Vancouver. She had not only a 4,000 mile plane ride BUT she had a 1.5 hour drive from her former home in NS. And most importantly, she was left by her obviously very sad former mom of 3 years. What an incredibly stressful day for a dog. Then on Thursday evening she was handed over to us in Vancouver and we drove to a hotel. Lena had never been in a hotel before and the sweet natured jet lagged dog quietly settled down on the bed. She even had a small supper! Next day, Friday, we departed for the ferry terminal and she had her first ride on the ferry. We stayed in the car with her and she enjoyed the ride. Once back home in Victoria we introduced her to her new home and that night she slept for hours. ROAM came into our lives Saturday morning. I had taken her out for a pee break and naively–when she hadn’t peed for 14 hours–I took her off the leash just to pee. We were in an enclosed fence park, very small with two exits. A strange dog SUDDENLY out of nowhere bolted up to her JUST as she finished peeing (she was literally off the leash for no more than 2 minutes) AND she froze, jumped backward and then ran. Her fear of the dog was so great that nothing I could do worked. I ran after her for three blocks down a city street but I lost sight of her. Everyone in the neighborhood called out encouragingly as I ran down the sidewalk in search of her. In about 10 minutes I reached Beacon Hill Park, across the street from my home. I ran home hoping she might have come to our front door. No luck. I then ran back towards the park realizing it was the first walk I had taken her on and IF she was as smart as I thought she was–she would remember it. I also thought it most resembled the pastoral area where she grew up. Fortunately for me I met the most lovely woman and 3 dogs number in her contact list. Terry, the acknowledged search wizard at ROAM, got the call from his dispatcher, and apparently dropped everything at home and bolted out the door so quickly his wife Barb didn’t know what was happening! Meanwhile I was desperately retracing my first walk in the park with Lena hoping to spot her.  As I ran through the park, I heard from many people Lena had been running from everyone who tried to help catch her. I even saw her with my own eyes and called out to her and she ran AS FAST AS SHE COULD in the other direction. I was devastated. Then I realized she was so traumatized that nothing could calm her down. At some point in the 4 hour search for Lena, my partner, Darrell, ran to the fire department in James Bay behind our house. The fire men jumped in their truck with the largest ladder and drove to the highest point in the park. They put up the ladder (which I think extends 10 stories) and they had a perfect outlook and actually spotted her heading for Dallas Road. For those who don’t live here this is the most beautiful dog park in the city and it runs along the water.This turned out to be the next piece of good luck in a day that started in a very bad way. Between the Victoria Animal Control (VACs) (Matt) and ROAM (Terry and countless volunteers) they managed to finally locate and corner Lena at one end of Dallas Road. She was so scared of them she ran down a huge embankment but lucky for us, the beach meant she couldn’t run into the streets anymore. With more skill than I could imagine, Matt and Terry worked together like a well oiled machine and closed off Lena’s possible escape route from the beach. Total strangers walking along the trails stopped also to help block her from coming back up the hill into traffic. By this time she apparently was too tired to run up the embankment (thankfully!) and within minutes Terry had safely and securely captured her. To think that one frightened dog–so far from its original home–ran through traffic for almost four hours and escaped unharmed is nothing short of a miracle. Except that in reality it was the training, love of dogs, and common sense of many people that brought us to this happy conclusion. We will always be so grateful to ROAM and all the good people of Victoria who came together to save our dog. Lena I’m happy to report is unscathed by her terrifying adventure. She is now wearing a HALTER and I have a 20 foot training leash. She has been back to the park in my company and she is also enjoying her walks on Willows Beach. Because of her ordeal we’ve been spoiling her just a bit :). I can’t tell you how many times Saturday night I looked down to see her sleeping beside us and pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I could never imagine a dog surviving what she did–and totally unharmed. Thank you Terry and Matt and all the fabulous people at ROAM and all those kind strangers who pitched in to help us. Cindy T and Darrell B Victoria BC

ROAM was our rock during the 98-day stretch our dog Olive was out on her own. The amount of effort the volunteers put in to her homecoming was absolutely amazing! They helped canvas neighborhoods, drove around at all hours, postered endlessly, organized a search party, set up feed stations equipped with cameras and delicious meats, watched live traps that had been customized with her fear of metal in mind, and constantly offered us their support and encouragement. Terry even flew to Arizona to pick up the remote-operated drop net used to capture her! At that time, Olive was regularly going to a feed station situated along a busy roadway. We were all concerned that her luck might run out with so much nearby traffic and the potential time lost with shipping was what prompted Terry’s flight. It really is impossible to put in to words everything ROAM did for us. Olive did not make capture an easy task! She moved neighborhoods frequently (View Royal, Colwood, Sidney, & Brentwood Bay), ran from any approach, and refused to go in to any trap as she had been trapped in the past. No matter how hopeless things felt at times, giving up was not an option considered by us or ROAM. We are so thankful that such a dedicated and positive group of people exists and were able to resolve this difficult case. It is an absolute pleasure to have our wild “little monkey” home again. Thank you Terry, Barb, Lesli, Rachel, Cyndi, Linda, Barry, Darlene…and all of the rest of the ROAM volunteers! You guys are the best.

Thanks to Terry and co. for working with Good Samaritan (Dan) to help capture and return Smokey, our very sly and speedy sled-dog. Even more importantly, thank you for understanding our plight and helping to educate and encourage us rather than chastising us or suggesting that we give up on our dog. We adopted Smokey knowing that she has serious issues to work through, but we did so because she is an excellent physical and emotional companion for our son, who has also had a very difficult time making it through elementary and middle-school with his self-esteem intact. In giving Smokey what she needs, we are also providing our son with the motivation and example he desperately needs to take good care of both his dog and himself.

What amazing people/service 🙂 Alan is my brothers dog- i had let him out this afternoon 2pm with out his collar:(- he slipped into the park and was gone- i was searching for hours for him before my brother got home – he arrived home and i broke him the news- its the worst feeling-we had paused our searched efforts in hopes he would find his way back- he was too lost -we made some calls and got in touch with roam- these people were on the scene within an hour -they were everywhere searching for hours- they kept in contact with me the whole time- and were relentless with there search – they had Alan back by 7pm before dark- what an amazing feeling- i owe roam bigtime – if you ever lose your pet – you need these people on your side- unreal service- thank you soo much!!!!!!

I am so thankful for this organization :). I called them after Lacie was missing on our walk for 20 minutes, I called, whistled and retraced my steps but she was no where to be seen. Thank you to the lovely couple who found her and called ROAM.

Words can’t even describe how grateful I am to have had the help from ROAM in finding our beloved family dog. Terry and Barb gave us the tools and emotional support that was much needed in the non stop search. They checked in with us constantly, had the patience to answer and re-answer our many questions and inspired us to make the right choices ( all the time respecting my decisions) which in the end led us to a happy and very relieving reunion! Thank you so much guys!! 🙂

A huge thank you to ROAM and all of the the kind volunteers who dropped everything to look for our beloved runaway Kalle!! We were absolutely astounded at how quickly ROAM immobilized after I got in touch. Within an hour they had posters printed and volunteers scouring Mt. Doug. Every walker I stopped on the mountain to ask if they had seen my missing dog had already seen a poster and/or been approached by someone else! I couldn’t believe it. We are so very, very grateful for everyone’s efforts. We were so distraught that Kalle was missing but were very heartened by realizing what a caring community we live in. It was a long 6 hours, but all’s well that ends well!! Thank you all!! And another huge thank you to the kind woman that pulled over and rescued him from Blenkinsop Road when he ran into traffic! I was too overwhelmed to get her name. Kalle and I will be enjoying an ON-LEASH walk today in the beautiful sunshine.

I just want to say thank you so much to the Lesli, Roam team, the couple who found him and everyone who helped. Frankie is such a sweet boy, and is loved by all of us at the Rescue. It is so great to have the support of Roam and the community when something like this happens. Frankie is a tired little boy and is resting after his big adventure today!!

I would like to thank Terry and the ROAM Team for being there for my family when I lost my dog.   Within hours after completing the lost pet application, I had three ROAM team members contact me by phone.  The ROAM team was quick to respond to my application.  They were efficient and ensured they had the correct information about my dog and the location on where he was lost.  And, when talking with them on the phone they were understanding, supportive and encouraging. I cannot say enough good things about the ROAM Team and the service they provide.  Thank you again!  Yvette S