Photo: Ed's World of Critters and Pets

Pytka reunited with his beloved puppy Roo

A 15-week-old puppy has been successfully reunited with her owner after she was stolen along with his truck yesterday morning.

David Pytka works for CPKC, and said he was performing a crossing routine near Tappen Thursday morning when his truck was stolen.

“My truck was parked outside the crossing bungalow, so I was about two feet from the truck inside an aluminum bungalow,” he said.

Due to the cold weather, Pytka kept the truck running in order to keep his puppy warm.

“It was a 15-minute test and during that time, apparently some less-reputable characters stole my truck,” he said.

Salmon Arm RCMP were able to quickly locate the stolen vehicle. It had been abandoned near Fleming Lake on Skimikin Lake Road. The interior of the truck had been trashed, but Pytka's 15-week-old Mexican hairless puppy called Roo was nowhere to be seen.

Pytka said he had only had the puppy for about a month before the theft.

“Everything else in the truck it's all insured, so it's replaceable, but I was a little disheartened…that they had taken her,” Pytka said.

Pytka called his girlfriend who began posting to Shuswap-area Facebook groups to try and find the stolen puppy.

The posts about the stolen puppy spread fast on social media, and by 5 p.m. Thursday, someone walked into Ed’s World of Critters and Pets on the Trans-Canada Highway in Salmon Arm with Roo and her kennel.

The man told staff he had been paid $100 to drop off the scared little puppy at any pet store.

The pet store posted on social media about the tearful reunion between Pytka and his stolen puppy.

“She was terrified and hungry, so we fed her, snuggled her, and reached out to Shuswap Paws, who reached out to her owner and we were able to reunite Roo with her Dad!,” reads the social media post.

“There were tears from our staff and her dad, and little Roo almost turned inside out wiggling with joy when she saw her Dad!”

Pytka said he was very relieved to have his puppy back safe and sound, and thanked Shuswap residents for all their help.

“I have a feeling that the only reason that they dropped her off at Critters is because of the heat from the locals and stuff,” he said.

Pytka said Friday is Roo’s 15-week birthday and he’s very happy to be celebrating it with her.

Photo: Ed's World of Critters and Pets

Roo in her kennel after being turned in to the pet store