A service dog that vanished after being tied up outside a west-end fast food restaurant early Sunday morning was reunited with her owner less than 24 hours later.
The 28-year-old woman secured the dog, who is named ‘Princess,’ to a railing outside a McDonald’s at Bloor Street and Ossington Avenue at around 2 a.m. and went inside to get a coffee.
After spending about 10 minutes in line, the woman said she decided to go check to make sure the dog was OK. The woman said that when she went outside the dog was gone and the only thing left behind was its leash.
“She has been with me for five years,” Ashley-Victoria Martineau said of the dog in an interview with CP24 on Sunday morning. “I love her so dearly. I miss her.”
Martineau said that ‘Princess’ is a registered service dog that helps her with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression.
She said she rescued the dog from the Main Street and Danforth Avenue area five years ago after it was nearly run over by a bus and has kept it by her side ever since.
“She helps with relieving stress and preventing my tremors,” she said.
Toronto Police Det. Kristy Smith told CP24 that officers have spoken to management at the McDonald’s and canvassed the surrounding area for surveillance camera footage today.
Smith later said Princess was found "safe and sound." She was reunited with Martineau around 9 p.m.
