Finnie found: Happy ending in search for lost YK dog

At 10:15 am on Monday, Finnie’s owners announced on Facebook that their dog had been found after she was missing for more than a week.

Finnie’s disappearance had prompted a lot of attention from Yellowknife residents as her owners, Jill and Justin Rivera, posted updates online and missing posters around the city.

Finnie, who had been missing since June 29, was returned to her owners after being spotted early Monday morning near Ndılǫ by two people who used Timbits to coerce Finnie into their vehicle.

Jill said she was out on the rocks behind Turner Road searching for her dog when she got the call that Finnie had been found.

“I turned around the corner to our house, and sure enough, my husband was greeting her out of the vehicle,” Jill told Cabin Radio.

“Then he turned around and pointed at me and she ran to me, and oh, I was crying, a big, ugly cry.”

The Rivera’s were headed to the veterinarian with Finnie for a checkup when Cabin Radio called about their reunion. Jill said that Finnie was “panting a lot” and was not eating or drinking a lot of food or water.

“But she’s happy,” Jill said. “And I think she’s tired, because she just looks so exhausted.”

Jill and Justin expressed their gratitude to the Yellowknife community for “taking time to go out and search.”

“I can’t say how many times we’ve been out looking and we’ve heard someone calling for Finnie or carrying an extra leash or carrying extra treats, sharing a post or commenting on it,” Jill said.

A search party, organized by Lauren Theil, was held on Sunday to help look for Finnie.

Jill said she is convinced it was the number of people who showed up to look for Finnie that day, and everyone calling her name, that “pulled her out from hiding.”

“We’ve made so many new friends through this,” Jill said. “We’re so grateful to the community as a whole for keeping an eye out and trying to find her.”

“We also want to take the opportunity to say thank you to the community that really pulled together to show to support for us and to get the dog back,” Justin added.

While the Rivera’s had posted a $1,000 reward for the return of their dog, Jill said that the individuals who found and returned Finnie declined that reward.

Jill said she and Justin plan on finding another way to express their gratitude, both to those individuals and to the larger community.

“People that don’t even know us were just willing to drop what they were doing to try to find her,” Jill said while expressing that she was near tears.

“Just an absolutely amazing, amazing, amazing place that we live in.”