This story has been updated to add new information.
District of North Vancouver firefighters have recovered a dead dog from the pools of Lynn Canyon but, sadly, they don't know to whom they should return the remains.
Assistant chief David Dales said they were called by a concerned resident on Thursday afternoon after they saw what appeared to be a dead dog just beneath the surface in one of the pools below Twin Falls.
Dales, a dog lover, sent in a rescue team with some equipment to reach the dog. They took it to the Mountainside Animal Hospital. The pup appears to be a lab/retriever mix, Dales said. They could not tell if it was male or female.
“It probably had been deceased for some time,” he said. “There’s a historical dog missing somewhere.”
The crew put the word out on their social media channels and the District of North Vancouver’s animal services staff sought to ID the dog and find its owners.
“We're kind of at a loss of words for who this dog belongs to,” Dales said.
On Tuesday, district spokeswoman Cassie Brondgeest said the dog wad badly decomposed and not microchipped, making identification impossible.
Already, have this year and there has been an inordinately high number of on the North Shore.
“It's going to be a bad year,” Dales said. “It's because the unpredictability of the water and the influx of people.”
Anyone whose dog gets swept into the water or down a cliff ledge should call 911, Dales said.
“The District of North Vancouver has a reputation for responding to all dogs in distress. Please do that immediately. Don't delay,” he said. “And if your dog likes the water, just [let it play in or near it] very, very safely.”
