British Columbia

Qualicum Beach woman searching for lost therapy dog

Erika Anslow is distraught that a six-week search has failed to reunite her with her missing therapy dog Stanley.

Labradoodle helped owner deal with severe depression, also works with dementia patients

A Qualicum Beach therapy dog named Stanley was lost in late-September. (Erika Anslow)

A woman in Qualicum Beach, B.C., is distraught that a six-week search has failed to reunite her with her lost therapy dog, Stanley.

Erika Anslow left Stanley with her landlord for few days in late September because she was going on a vacation that was not dog-friendly.

The big, brown Labradoodle was let outside by the dog sitter, and he never came back.

"He was the love of my life and I believe he went searching for me," she said. 

Stanley, a Labradoodle therapy dog from Qualicum Beach (right), is wearing a collar with a rabies tag that gives the information for his vet. (Erika Anslow)

Anslow said Stanley has been by her side for a decade and has helped her overcome severe depression. She also takes him to a nursing home to work with dementia patients.

"He was everything to me. If it wasn't for his presence in my life, I wouldn't be alive today," she said.

Anslow has put up hundreds of posters on Vancouver Island and created a Facebook page for her search. She even hired a company that searches for lost pets, but it could find no trace of Stanley.

She worries that someone found him, but decided to keep him.

"I think someone picked him up, because there have been no sightings of him," she said. 

Anslow said Stanley has a unique distinguishing feature on his rear left paw — he he is missing one of the pads.

Even though Stanley has now been gone for weeks, Anslow is still hoping someone might spot him and help bring him back home.