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Shih Tzu with a history of suffering returns home

A Shih Tzu is safely back home thanks to the help of neighbours and Noles Dennhardt, a local videographer, and his dog Roo.

THUNDER BAY – Julie, a small Shih Tzu with a history of suffering and resilience, went missing for five days.

But now she’s home thanks to one woman’s unshakable love, a supportive community and a dog named Roo.

Julie is about 10 years old. For the first seven years of her life, she lived caged in a puppy mill within the Thunder Bay jurisdiction. She was one of nine dogs rescued from horrific conditions. Then, in October 2021, her life changed forever when Beverly Johnston Olson saw her for the first time.

“I instantly fell in love with her,” Olson recalled. “I knew right away I wanted to adopt her.”

The next day, Julie was coming home.

Olson was warned that Julie would be a high-risk flight dog, skittish and prone to running. But with time and trust, she would adjust.

Olson, who is retired, started recently working part-time as a consultant and arranged for Julie to be looked after while she worked.

“Because she had been with me 100 per cent of the time since adoption, I believe she started to panic when I wasn’t right there,” Olson said.

On July 2, Olson let Julie outside to use the bathroom. Without warning, the dog bolted.

She returned to the yard briefly that night, but quickly disappeared again. The next day, she was spotted running through a neighbour’s property, heading toward the village of South Gillies. Then, nothing.

Devastated but determined, Olson reached out to Noles Dennhardt, a local videographer known for locating lost pets using his drone and the calm, comforting presence of his dog Roo. Noles came out Saturday. There was no sign of Julie. He returned Sunday. Still nothing to be found of the dog. 

“I couldn’t stop crying,” Olson said. “I was shaking. I told Noles, ‘Stay however many days it takes until you and Roo find my Julie. I can’t go on like this.’”

That night Roo stayed with Olson, lying beside her as if he understood she needed comfort.

On Monday morning, Olson and the search team returned to Turkey Trail Road, near the last known sightings of Julie. As Olson drove slowly up the gravel stretch, a small figure caught her eye, moving just ahead on the road.

“I saw her - my Julie,” she said. “She stopped and turned to look at me when I called her. But when I tried to get closer, she ran again.”

Just then, a resident who lived at the end of the road passed by. Olson flagged him down and he offered to drive ahead and look.

Moments later, Olson saw his brake lights flash, and the car quickly reversed back toward her.

“She’s sitting in the middle of the dead-end turnaround,” he told her.

Olson climbed into his car, and they drove quietly forward.

There she was, Julie, just sitting. Waiting.

“I didn’t get too close,” Olson said. “I tossed one of her favourite duck treats. She grabbed it right away. Then I crouched down like Noles had taught me, holding out a few more in my hand. She came forward, took them all, and then she just collapsed on the road. She let me pick her up right away.”

After five long days of searching, heartbreak and hope, Julie was finally safe in Olson's arms.

The next morning, Olson took her to an emergency veterinary appointment.

Alpha Grooms on Union School Road generously donated her time to bathe Julie and check her over. Julie was covered in ticks, including one on her eyeball, thankfully causing no lasting damage.

Her underbelly was sunburned and blistered. Her paw pads were inflamed and sore.

Julie is at home and is healthy.



Penny Robinson

About the Author: Penny Robinson

Raised in northern Ontario on the shores of Lake Superior, Penny is a student-athlete at the University of Montreal where she is pursuing a degree in journalism and multimedia.
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