North Vancouver alert for Amber the dog retrieves quick success

Photo: The Canadian Press

A North Vancouver RCMP officer and six-year-old golden retriever Amber are shown in this handout image. North Vancouver RCMP have arrested a suspect in relation to a stolen dog investigation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-RCMP 

Quick action by North Vancouver police along with a social media alert about a missing dog named Amber allowed for a speedy recovery of the golden retriever.

Mounties say a frantic dog owner called Monday to report that six-year-old Amber had been taken from the front of a store when the owner briefly went inside.

Officers canvassed the neighbourhood for surveillance footage and saw a man on video walking a dog that matched Amber's description.

Within minutes of releasing the images on social media, police say they were flooded with calls that the suspect and the dog were on a Seabus heading toward Vancouver.

Transit police officers met the pair at the city's Waterfront Station just about three hours after Amber had been snatched.

Police say a man in his 40s is facing possible charges of theft under $5,000.