The last few weeks of Alaina Tripp’s life might as well be out of a movie.
What began with heartbreak last September when her puppy Teddy was stolen from her downtown Ottawa apartment, led to skepticism, then joy last month when she received a series of phone calls and messages telling her the miniature white poodle had been found.
“I thought it was a joke,” she recalled.
Tripp had gotten Teddy the month before he was taken, after her previous dog got sick and had to be put down.
“We were just starting to bond and as soon as we got that solid bond it was taken away,” Tripp told CBC. “Everyone told me I’d never see him again.”
As it turns out, everyone was wrong.
Ottawa Morning9:22Ottawa woman reunited with stolen dog after 10-month ordeal
Alaina Tripp’s poodle Teddy was stolen from her apartment last fall. Ten months later, police in Wyoming pulled over a man at a traffic stop — and found the dog.
The rescue
Two weeks ago, Don Nethicumara, an officer with the Riverton Police Department (RPD) in Wyoming, pulled over a vehicle for running a red light when he noticed a warrant for the driver’s arrest.
Ottawa police previously told CBC News the man was wanted in connection with a residential break-and-enter.
According to Nethicumara, the warrant indicated the man was in possession of a stolen dog named Teddy, who was in the car at the time.
“He seemed like he was a little hyperactive from being cooped up in that vehicle for that long,” Nethicumara said, adding his fur was matted but he was otherwise unharmed.
The RPD tracked down Tripp through the Ottawa and Valley Lost Pet Network �— a Facebook group run by a group of volunteers, including Lori Ann Borutski.
Borutski helped connect them with Tripp, and work began to bring Teddy home.
The long-awaited reunion
Shannon Sanderson, an animal control officer with the RPD took the lead on sorting out the logistics, but really she said “it was a group effort.”
“Boss’ Bark Boutique did his grooming for his trip back to Canada,” Sanderson said, and staff at the Paws for Life animal shelter in Riverton drove Teddy to the airport in Denver for his flight home.
From there, he made a stop in Los Angeles before flying to Toronto Pearson International Airport last Friday.
Tripp had been nervous not knowing how she would make it to Toronto to meet Teddy since she doesn’t drive, but Borutski told her “Wherever he came in, I would take her.”
Once they knew he would be arriving in Toronto, “Off we went,” she said.
A happy reunion, a new beginning
“He remembered me instantly,” Tripp said with a smile. “[It was] like one of those moments that feels unreal, that you’re so happy that your happiness can’t be contained.”
Hollywood would have you believe that good stories end with a reunion at the airport, but for Tripp, that was just the beginning.
Sitting on a bench at Dundonald Park with Teddy perched calmly next to her just days after their reunion, Tripp said she looks forward to seeing what the future brings for them.
In the four days Teddy’s been back, Tripp said he’s been adjusting to his new surroundings well and is healthy. He even gets along with her newest dog, Milo.
“It’s hard to believe that running a red light led to Teddy coming home,” she reflected.
She’s grateful to everyone who made his journey back to her possible.
But after everything, she said, “It’ll be nice … to settle into this week of just me, Teddy and Milo.”