An Alberta family fears the worst for their dog after she was accidentally let out of the backyard of their northeast Calgary home by a utility employee.
Joe Jesseau and Briana Jaroslawsky – who live on Abberfield Way – say their dog got out of their yard around 9 a.m. on Thursday and hasn’t come home.
Jaroslawsky let their seven-year-old Papillion Shepherd-cross named Bean outside. At the same time, an Enmax employee went into their backyard to check the meter.
“I was making a coffee, saw her out in the backyard and then I heard a bang on the front window,” Jaroslawsky said.
“It was the Enmax guy. (I) opened the door and he said, ‘I let your dog out, sorry,’” she said.
Get breaking National news
Jaroslawsky recalled grabbing her jacket and hearing the Enmax employee say “I’ll try and keep an eye on her;” but he left once the dog was out of sight.
“I don’t know how he could just walk away without helping,” she said.
Global News reached out to Enmax about the situation but did not receive a response by the time of publishing.
The family says the dog was last seen around 11 a.m. on Thursday near the intersection of 68th Street SE and 17th Avenue, before heading towards Elliston Park.
Since Thursday, the couple says they’ve put up posters, led search teams and even handed out business cards to anyone who passed them on the street in an attempt to get their dog back.
They’ve spent hours in the dark searching the streets and parks; going on little to no sleep over the past three days, they said.
“She’s my kid,” says a very emotional Jesseau. “I don’t have kids at home, so I treat my dog like most parents do their kids. I’d do anything for her,” he added.
As temperatures stay well below freezing, the couple worries that time and the elements aren’t on Bean’s side.
Over the past year, the couple says they’ve had to put down two other dogs for health reasons and they fear the worst for Bean.
“This is a blow. I have no more dogs, and it sucks,” Jaroslawsky said.