Photo: The Dogist

Photo taken of a dog looking like Ruger and three suspect men in Montreal, published on "The Dogist" Facebook page Aug. 16.

A Naramata family is desperate to be reunited with their dog after it was stolen by a group of transients and taken to Montreal.

Fiona Logie said the family was walking their dogs, Ruger and Koda, off-leash in the mountains above Naramata on Aug. 5.

It was normal for the dogs to run into the woods and return down the path or at home. But this time, the pair just vanished.

The family searched and called area vets. The next day, Koda turned up at the local pound, dropped off by a black van associated with a group of transient farm workers living in the area.

Logie said other farm workers in the area told her that they saw Ruger — a three-year-old Siberian Husky — with three men that had recently left the area. Three men fitting that description were also caught on surveillance footage (see below) trying to steal a dog from a different residence in Naramata.

“It was an intentional theft, it wasn’t that they were rescuing, the dogs are in good health and taken care of,” Logie said. “The kids are just beside themselves.”

Logie continued to search and opened a file with the Penticton RCMP.

Then on Aug. 16, a Facebook post from a Montreal dog photographer “The Dogist” was published of a Siberian Husky looking just like Ruger.

“We found him in the woods in Pennington (sic), B.C. five days ago. He had fleas and some other dog bit him on the arm – some guy just left him there. He was a good dog the whole way back,” reads the Facebook post.

Logie said she has gotten in touch with the photographer, who confirmed Ruger was with the three men caught on camera in Naramata, but the photographer and men did not exchange information. Castanet News reached out to “The Dogist,” but did not received a response.

Logie called the story from the transients “a load of malarky” and has contacted every vet and SPCA in Montreal, circulating Ruger’s photo. She added that the Penticton RCMP is also in the process of requesting the Montreal Police open a file about the dog.

“I hope they are taking care of him and they still got him. But you never know, are they trying to sell dogs?” Logie wondered out loud, noting Ruger didn't have a cone on him when they went out for a walk.

At this point, she is hoping someone in the Okanagan recognizes the men or knows where they worked this summer so she can get one step closer to identifying the men who have her dog. She is offering a cash reward for information that helps return Ruger to B.C.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Cst. Layne Morris or Cpl. Dave Smith of the Penticton RCMP.

Photo: Contributed

Surveillance footage of three men allegedly attempting to steal another dog in Naramata