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Family pet rescued from stolen truck

A scary situation ended in favour of one Foothills family and their beloved pet.

A scary situation ended in favour of one Foothills family and their beloved pet.

Maya, an eight-year-old German shepherd, got the ride of her life when she hitched a lift in her owners’ truck, along with the person who stole it from their acreage near the Big Rock.

“She's never jumped in that truck, so maybe she was trying to protect it,” said owner Tammy Holunga. “I can't believe that guy didn't kick her out as she cries a lot on car rides. We were sure lucky as she could have been gone forever.”

It happened the morning of May 17. Both Holunga and her husband, Greg, were home at the time and working around the house. When her husband went to leave to run some errands, the truck was gone. At first, he accused Holunga of playing a joke on him by moving his truck.

They both went outside, where they discovered not only that the truck was missing, but that there was a beat-up sedan left in its place.

“We figured someone stole the truck and left this other, surely stolen, car,” said Holunga.

They called the Okotoks RCMP, but when officers arrived they were unable to fingerprint the car because it was raining. The vehicle was towed to Okotoks and they took statements from the couple.

“Greg remembered he has Onstar service on the truck,” said Holunga. “So, he put them in touch with the RCMP.”

They also posted photos of the mystery sedan on a number of Facebook groups to find the owner and asked people to keep an eye out for Greg’s truck.

It didn’t take long for someone to reply to one of the posts, identifying the missing car as their own, she said.

“It was stolen from her house in Calgary on Monday,” said Holunga. “Word travels fast. She told me she watched her car being stolen from her kitchen window, thinking it was her husband leaving for work.”

It wasn’t too long afterward the Holungas received a phone call that Greg’s truck was located at a Petro Canada station in Calgary, where On Star had been able to turn off the engine remotely, and Calgary Police arrested the suspect inside the store.

This wasn’t the end for the couple, or Maya.

When the Holungas returned home after picking up a rental car in Okotoks, they noticed Maya was missing. Their other three dogs were home, around the yard.

Just as their worry started to grow, they received a call from the Calgary Police, asking whether the German shepherd found inside the stolen truck belonged to them.

“She jumped in for a ride with the thief,” said Holunga. “What a dumb-dumb. If only she could talk.”

Const. Shane Martens of the Okotoks RCMP said the Calgary Police are still dealing with the suspect arrested for stealing the truck, but no formal charges had been laid as of May 19.

“I’ve spoken to the owner of the car, and they’re going to be dealing through their insurance to get it back,” said Martens.

RCMP remind residents to always keep vehicles locked and remove valuables. Police should be called immediately if any suspicious activity is noticed, he said.

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