Brutis von Schnauzer is home safe and sound, but the road to get him there was a long one, the dog's owner said Monday.

It turns out Brutis was in the care of Angel's Animal Rescue in Merritt the entire time Craig MacLeod was looking for his beloved dog.

“He wasn't even in the same town,” said a frustrated MacLeod.

MacLeod, 27, got Brutis back on Saturday when Angel's Animal Rescue contacted him. He said an identification tattoo in the schnauzer's ear led the shelter to him.

“I'm relieved to have him home,” he said, adding he spent all day Sunday playing with his dog.

He launched a search for Brutis when the dog disappeared near the parking lot at Pioneer Park on Aug. 20.

Prior to that he got into an argument with a woman who didn't approve of him using a training collar on his pet. At one point Brutis was playing with a couple of dogs and wouldn't answer MacLeod's commands. When he gave the dog a jolt, it angered the woman, who was in the park with her children and two dogs.

MacLeod learned the woman took Brutis to the SPCA and tried dropping the dog off. Staff told her they cannot take stolen property.

Speculation was the woman took Brutis home with her, but that's not what happened.

Angel's Animal Rescue told MacLeod an elderly couple found Brutis tied to a bench at a park in Kamloops. The training collar and all of the dog's identification was gone, he said.

The couple heard about Angel's in the media and decided to drop the dog off there. MacLeod said it took days for staff to track him down.

He said it was a long week without Brutis. He compared the experience to losing a child.

“It turns your world upside down.”

And he's not impressed with the lack of co-operation he received from the SPCA and the RCMP. He said neither made much of an effort to help him get his dog back.

RCMP continue to investigate the matter. Last week Const. Cheryl Bush told The Daily News police talked to a person of interest in the investigation.

MacLeod said he will continue to use the training collar. He understands that some people might be upset, but said how he trains the animal is his business.

jhewlett@kamloopsnews.ca