An anonymous donor and the owner of a company that provides equipment to military, police and search and rescue dogs have stepped in to replace a SAR dog harness stolen over the weekend.
It was one of several items reported taken during Pet-A-Palooza after 5:30 p.m. on Saturday on the grounds of St. Ann’s Academy in the 800-block of Humboldt Street.
The stolen harness was used by S&R K9 Moxxii and her handler when deployed and is a key piece of safety equipment. It also had patches on it given to Moxxii and her handler Angela Lavergne by military members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Photo: VicPD
After the theft, Lavergne immediately reached out to several people including Miguel Rodriguez, owner of Cerberus K9 Solutions, a Victoria business that provides equipment including dog harnesses, to ask them to be on the lookout for the stolen item.
Rodriguez then got a call from someone offering to pay for a replacement harness for Moxxii.
“We were contacted by an anonymous donor who wanted to pledge an amount to replace the vest,” he said.
On Monday night in Langford, Rodriguez presented the new harness to a very happy Angela Lavergne and Moxxii.
Rodriguez then went even further, he donated the money he’d been given for the harness to the Search and Rescue Dog Association of Victoria.
“We decided to take that money and donate it to the organization,” he said.
Moxxii shows off a new harness
They would still like to track down the stolen harness.
VicPD say other items were also taken on Saturday including embroidered dog collars, a blue suitcase, metal tote bins and more.
Photo: VicPD
If you can help, please call VicPD 250-995-7654 or Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-8477.
Ben O'Hara
