With a lazy eye and a slow gait, 12-year-old Aussie Shepherd Boomer is the adorable subject of a successful search and rescue mission that mobilized community members, taxi drivers and RCMP officers alike last week. Proud owner Andy Slee said he is still astounded by the outpouring of concern that followed the apparent abduction of his pet friend. "It was a mission to be had by all the community," he said."One dog has pulled out so many people from so many walks of life."Boomer went missing from the cab of Slee's truck while he was dining at the White Spot on Saturday afternoon (June 19). Although Slee believed he had been abducted, Boomer didn't stay captive for long.Shortly after going missing, store clerks in Squamish Station Mall reported seeing him running frantically around.For the rest of the day, Slee followed numerous sightings of Boomer, leading him to Cleveland Avenue, across the Mamquam Blind Channel, along the shore to the Adventure Centre, and to the woods along Loggers Lane."The whole time I'm panic city," he recalled.Slee has a special relationship with Boomer. Years earlier, when he fell 65 feet down a cliff while working on a house in Whistler, Boomer ran out to the middle of a nearby road and proceeded to sit down and bark until a driver stopped. The dog led the driver to Slee. "He saved my life," he said. "We have a crazy, crazy bond."With this in mind, Slee was determined to find Boomer and bring him home safe. After a weekend of searching with family, the community joined in the hunt on Monday (June 23). Posters of Boomer were distributed throughout town.Some people took stacks to share with friends."People kept saying, 'I want 10. I've got a baseball game tonight, a meeting.'"Smoke Bluff climbers also took some with them.Searching for Boomer became a community-wide preoccupation. When he was spotted in the middle of the night in the Business Park, Tim Hortons customers and RCMP staff circled the area.Starbucks staff also lent a hand, organizing hunts for Boomer after their shifts. Even taxi drivers joined in the mission, offering to drive Slee out to places they had last seen the dog. To cover the twilight hours, Kiewit workers let Slee know anytime they saw Boomer poking his head in and out of the woods."Everybody kept telling me 'You're going to find him. This has to have a positive ending.'"On Friday (June 27) a resident on Oceanview Lane heard a howl outside their home. This time, it was Boomer that had taken a cliff fall. He was lying shaken in a blackberry bush.The resident had heard about Boomer and called Slee, who was reunited with his dog. "Everybody was crying. It was a big boohoo session," Slee laughed. Luckily, Boomer suffered only a lazy eye and no major injuries. He is now back at his owner's side.And there will be no more week-long hunts for Boomer in the future, Slee said. The well-loved dog will soon have his own GPS chip.
