Gunner the Runner settling into home life after three-week adventure
The newly adopted St. Bernard pup returned to his family on Dec. 30 after escaping from his Creekside home
Many dog owners can relate to the struggle of trying to wrangle their pet through the door when that pup just doesn’t want their walk outside to end.
That hasn’t been the case for Jared Riseborough and his 11-month-old St. Bernard, Gunner. Though the former farm dog is still getting used to life indoors, said Riseborough, “he definitely prefers inside over outside right now.”
Gunner seemingly had his fill of the great outdoors last month, when he spent a full three weeks on a cross-town adventure that took him from Creekside to Emerald and even, reportedly, all the way to Harmony bowl on Whistler Mountain.
Gunner bolted away from his Sarajevo Drive home on Dec. 9, just two days after Riseborough and his family adopted the timid St. Bernard from Chilliwack.
“At first, I was like, ‘Well, he probably won’t go that far. He’s pretty scared of most things right now, so it’ll be fine,’” said Riseborough. “Initially I left work to go find him and I did actually see him and almost got him within, like, the first two hours. But trying to dive for a dog when you’re already in waist-deep snow is not easy.”
Over the following three weeks, sightings of Gunner would pour in through social media. The Sea to Sky Neighbourhood Animals Needing Assistance (NANA) Facebook group as well as Canine Valley, a Squamish-based training-centre, helped spread the word, field sighting reports and build a strategy.
“We would try and go out at least for a couple hours every day after work, usually to see if we could follow him around, which was originally just around Creekside,” said Riseborough. “And then, at some point …