 Four year old Lukas, Sam Roy and Leslie Smith, Lukas's mother, at home with Bailey, a three-year-old chiuaua-Pomeranian mix. Bailey, who was taken from outside agrocery store in Peterborough June 28, was returned to the family July 3, 2012. (ROB MCCORMICK/QMI AGENCY)
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PETERBOROUGH, Ont. — A dog taken from in front of a supermarket has been returned to its owner — a special needs boy who received the pet as a gift after his father died.
Bailey, a three-year-old chihuahua-Pomeranian mix, was returned to his owners Tuesday when the Peterborough Humane Society received an anonymous call saying the dog was tied to a tree near the society’s offices.
“They called and said they thought they had Bailey and I pretty much said, ‘We’ll be right there,” Leslie Smith said.
Smith is the mother of four-year-old Lukas, a special-needs child. Bailey was a gift to Lukas from his grandparents after Lukas’s father, 39-year-old Alex Florent, was killed in a car crash two weeks before Christmas 2010.
Bailey went missing Thursday morning, when Smith’s boyfriend, Sam Roy, tied the dog to a bicycle rack and went inside a grocery store. When Roy came out 10 minutes later, the dog was gone.
Lukas was devastated by the loss of the dog, Smith said.
“We can’t thank everyone enough for helping Lukas get his dog back,” she said. “We’re so happy to have him back. We are complete once again. Lukas doesn’t know what to think about it other than puppy was gone and now puppy is back.
“Whoever brought Bailey to the humane society, thank you for helping.”
Smith said she got the call from the humane society a bit before 2 p.m. Then she, as well as Roy and Lukas’s grandparents, took Bailey to Lukas’s daycare.
“It was a family affair,” she said. “Lucas got woken up during nap time. When he went to the car and he saw ... Bailey, he was pretty shocked. He pretty much just had a big smile on his face. And Bailey was excited to see Lukas. He’s happy to be home.”
Smith said the family received several calls over the weekend after QMI Agency published the story about Bailey’s disapperance.
“One call was from a gentleman and his wife offering to either pay the reward money or chip in to get Lukas another dog,” she said. The family had offered a $200 reward for the dog’s return.
“We also got a call from a lady offering Lukas a puppy from a batch of hers,” Smith said.
“We can’t wait to continue on with the summer now that Bailey is home.”
