A little girl in a Cape Breton community is only asking for one thing this Christmas – to be reunited with her lost puppy.
Spooked by a loud siren, the dog ran off during the Santa Claus Parade in New Waterford on Sunday and disappeared in the crowd.
The dog’s owner, 10-year-old Alyssa Gouthro, is trying to be strong and keep her daily routine, but she says it’s been hard to focus since Bailey disappeared.
All she can think about is getting her puppy back.
“She’s my best friend,” says a teary-eyed Gouthro. “It would make my Christmas. I don’t even care if I got anything.”
Gouthro’s mom says she is trying everything to find her little girl’s dog.
“The dog sleeps with her every night, so it’s pretty lonely when she goes to bed at night,” says Nicole Gouthro. “She sleeps with her TV on now, because she just wants something there to help comfort her.”
Bailey was last seen in front of the Emerald Street gas station, along a busy section of the parade route.
There have been a few reported sightings of the dog, but none since Monday night.
The eight-month-old Yorkshire Terrier has brown and black fur, with silver fur on the top of her head. She was wearing a pink sweater at the parade.
Perhaps her most distinctive feature is her ears – one is floppy while the other is straight.
The Gouthro family hopes someone has taken the dog in, and doesn’t know how to reach them.
“Might be a senior who doesn’t have Facebook or a computer, or hasn’t seen a poster,” says Frank McMaster, the little girl’s grandfather. “If they see us on TV, maybe it will ring a bell.”
Hundreds of people are sharing the story on social media and chiming in with supportive comments. New Waterford residents have also shown their support.
“They’re giving her hugs, everybody is keeping their fingers crossed, saying little prayers, and just hoping that she finds her dog,” says Jocelyn Morrison, the principal at Gouthro’s school.
Gouthro has a message for anyone who happens to spot Bailey.
“I just hope they realize that all I want for Christmas is her back, and I hope they bring her back to us soon.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald
