Verner resident Carmelle Girouard hasn't given up hope her dog, Ben, will be found, and she won't rest until she knows the black lab's fate.
Two years ago, Sudbury.com brought you Girouard's story. In February 2018, Ben was stolen from Girouard's property by unknown persons in a truck. At the time, Girouard said she was tending to a newborn calf on their farm while her husband was at church.
She said she heard Ben barking. When she went to investigate, she said she saw a two people in a dirty, older model dark-coloured truck drive off with Ben inside. She ran after the truck, but could only watch as it drove south on Highway 64 in Verner.
When she spoke with Sudbury.com, she said she didn't want to report the theft to police in hopes that Ben's abductor would return him unharmed, and no questions asked.
“I was running and yelling, but I could only see which way the truck was going,” she said. “I couldn't read the licence plate because it was so dirty.”
She said she thinks they knew about Ben through Facebook posts she shared about her beloved canine, and that's something she was warned against doing in speaking with other people in the aftermath of Ben's dognapping.
Just over two years later, Girouard said she has received hundreds of emails about possible sightings of Ben, but none of them have panned out. Ben has a very specific birthmark, and it would easy to identify the dog, she said.
“I cannot rest until I find out where or what happened to Ben,” she said.
Girouard is getting some surprising help, though. In two years, the story has been viewed 92,748 times, but more than half that number is from the past five days.
On Feb. 29, Google analytics showed the original story from 2018 was viewed three times. The next day, views skyrocketed to 15,214 and peaked on March 2 with 22,682 more pageviews. In five days, and as of March 5, the story had been viewed 68,846 times.
More than 98 per cent of that traffic was from Facebook from Toronto, Sudbury, Ottawa, Montreal, Hamilton, London, Kingston, Calgary and Barrie.
It seems a large portion of traffic came from a woman from Quebec named Carol Waterman, who runs the Facebook page "Canadian Volunteers for the Protection of Animals." Sudbury.com has reached out to Waterman to find out why she shared the story, but we have not heard back from her as of yet.
Girouard has received emails from people all over the world, either with possible sighting, or people offering support. One email came from France, while others have come from all over the United States, including Massachusetts, Michigan and South Carolina, to name a few.
“People have been very nice, and I try to respond to each email I get, but there are hundreds,” she said.
Ben was a rescue dog, and Girouard's farm was supposed to be his forever home, she said.
“It's sad,” she said. “He was a lovable dog, a gentle soul, and he'd follow me wherever I would go.”
“I cannot heal until I found out what happened to Ben,” she said.
Girouard said some day she may consider getting another canine, but for now, she's still grieving the loss of Ben.
Anyone with information is asked by Girouard to please email her at [email protected]. She said she can also be found on Facebook under her name Carmelle Girouard, where she is also receiving information through the Messenger app.
With all the attention the story is getting right now, Girouard said if Ben isn't found, then she fears for his well being.
