Dog lost in Saskatchewan during cross-country trip reunited with family

A family moving from Ontario to Alberta in November had a scare when their family dog got loose during a stop in Dafoe, Sask. and ran away.

Jax, a 15-year-old senior dog was limping along Highway #16 when Cassey Reiniger and her sister came across it.

"He [Jax] looked cold he was kind of stumbling was not walking right so we were like 'Well he’s obviously hurt, needs help, [and] we might as well help him,'" she explained.

Reiniger’s mom suggested she take him to a nearby shelter – the Mozart Sympawthy Animal Sanctuary.

After a few days of asking around, and with little help, they figured the owners were maybe a little further away.

The sanctuary shared several posts over social media about the lost canine with no luck.

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

That is until a conversation between locals gave them a tip.

"One of the local residents overheard a family had lost their dog and were looking for it but did not have any of their information," Veronica Hermiston explained.

"There is someone who is missing their dog who lives further away so we just started posting everywhere and all over and luckily the family saw it."

Days passed and a few social media posts of Jax later, the family reached out to claim the precious pooch.

"So relieved, you just feel for the animal and now in the family, it was beautiful because it was a senior dog, and its stressful for them," Hermiston said.

For Reiniger, it’s a happy ending for everyone.

"If we had left him, he could have been stranded for days so we were like ‘Well that’s pretty good he got back to his family’ and it was kind of crazy how far they were moving and right in the center [of the country] too," Reiniger said.

CTV News was unable to reach Jax's owners for comment. However, Mozart Sympawthy Animal Sanctuary posted videos of Jax reuniting with his family – as well as Jax’s owners thanking all those involved.