Marit Gookin and Austin Beck-Doss The Ranger
RIVERTON — Dogs are mankind’s best friends, our first and oldest companions and teammates. When a dog goes missing, communities often come together to try to find him
them – but some dogs never come home again. Usually, once a dog has been missing
They don’t come back for more than a few weeks.
But for a Canadian woman and her puppy, this unlikely reunion is soon to come, thanks in large part to the people of Riverton.
When Ottawa resident Alaina Tripp returned home from work on September 25, 2023, she found that her air conditioner had been ripped out of the wall, her home had been broken into, and her beloved puppy Teddy was missing.
Teddy, only a few months old at the time, remained missing for nearly a year before he was finally found – 2,000 miles away in central Wyoming.
During a routine traffic stop last Saturday, Riverton Police Officer Don Nethicumara noticed a small white toy poodle on Paul Sheehan’s lap. A search of the vehicle allegedly turned up a bag of methamphetamine. Nethicumara charged Sheehan with meth possession – and soon learned that the person he had stopped for running a red light had a non-extraditionable warrant out of Canada for allegedly stealing a dog named Teddy.
Eventually the tiny puppy was taken away from Sheehan and Tripp was notified.
“I’m completely amazed at how a traffic stop in a small town… He (Sheehan) ran a red light and Officer Don pulled him over, and that was the beginning and the end of a wonderful story,” Tripp noted.
With the PAWS shelter closed for the fair, Teddy has spent the last few days roaming the halls of the Riverton Police Department. While waiting for his long journey home, Teddy was reportedly busy chasing a ball through the halls of the RPD station.
Tripp is desperate to hug Teddy in person, but bringing a dog across international borders isn’t easy – especially if his owner isn’t traveling with him. Bringing Teddy home will cost about $1,500, Tripp said.
Her friend Pamela Meadows volunteered to help with the financial arrangements and set up a GoFundMe page for Teddy. Donations poured in from various organizations and individuals in Riverton and Ottawa. As of Friday morning, more than $1,700 had been raised.
When five-month-old Teddy disappeared, Tripp was distraught. Her previous dog had recently died after a long battle with his health, and now she had lost her second dog in less than six months.
Meadows helped her put up missing person posters and posted about Teddy’s disappearance on the Ottawa and Valley Lost Pets Network Facebook page, asking for any help they could get. Meanwhile, Sheehan headed south toward the Canada-US border.
During the break-in, Sheehan was filmed by nearby cameras entering Tripp’s house, so police knew exactly who to look for.
Just before Canada’s Thanksgiving in October, Tripp received the bad news: Sheehan had crossed the border with Teddy, and Canadian police don’t normally cross the border to pick up dogs. “Everyone said I probably wouldn’t find Teddy,” she said. “At that point, we thought he was gone forever,” Meadows commented. “Alaina was deeply saddened. She asked me if she would ever see Teddy again, and I had to tell her I didn’t think that was possible.”
Then, last Saturday, Tripp’s phone started ringing – and ringing and ringing. She thought it was work calling her on her day off, so she ignored the calls at first. When she answered, it wasn’t her supervisor on the other end, but a Riverton police officer – and Teddy’s excited yelp could be heard in the background.
“I was so shocked,” Tripp recalled.
In the months since the dog’s abduction, several people who had seen missing persons posters and billboards had reported Teddy as dead.
The call from Riverton assured Tripp that Teddy’s sweet, bouncing presence was alive and well. When Meadows learned that Teddy was found in Wyoming, she immediately contacted Tripp.
“‘He’s so far away – how do we get Teddy home, Ela?’ she asked me. I told her she wasn’t alone and we would figure it out,” Meadows said.
After days of logistical planning, Teddy had a ticket home in his hands this week, just two days after Tripp’s surgery.
The GoFundMe campaign is still raising money to help Tripp pay for initial veterinary exams and food costs. Once Teddy’s needs are met, any remaining donations will be forwarded to the charities that supported Teddy’s return to Canada.
To donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-teddys-miraculous-return.
“A special thanks to Officer Don (Nethicumara),” Tripp said. “The world needs to know there are still good people here, and Riverton seems to be a town full of good people.”
