Owner seeks public aid to retrieve husky

PHOTO COURTESY OF CORINA ALEXANDER Corina Alexander of Sanbornton, N.H., is seeking help in locating her missing dog, a Siberian Husky named Bobbi (above). The dog has been missing since last Sunday following the Can-Am Crown Sled Dog Races. PHOTO COURTESY OF CORINA ALEXANDER

FORT KENT, Maine — People living along the St. John River between Fort Kent and Frenchville are on the lookout for a wandering husky missing since the Can-Am Crown Sled Dog Races last Sunday.

Corina Alexander of Kiana Siberians in Sanbornton, N.H., said her Siberian Husky Bobbi ran off when a handler was attempting to load the dog into a truck.

The incident occurred near the Knights of Columbus Hall in Fort Kent and unconfirmed sightings of the gray and white dog have been reported from the K of C Hall to the St. Luce Church in Frenchville.

According to Alexander, who with her husband Scott Alexander raced in the Can-Am’s 30-mile event on Saturday, before leaving Fort Kent she had made arrangements for Bobbi to be transported to a new owner in Minnesota.

“We dropped Bobbi off to the guy who was going to take her [to Minnesota],” Alexander said. “He let go of her collar when he tried to put her in the truck.”

The dog immediately ran off, she said.

“We were just a half hour out of Fort Kent on our way home when it happened,” Alexander said. “But we didn’t know until we got home eight hours later and there was a message on our answering machine.”

Alexander said she immediately got back in her car and drove back to Fort Kent, arriving at 2 a.m. Monday, where she spent the next 12 hours searching for the lost dog before commitments forced her to abandon the hunt and return to New Hampshire.

“I found some fresh paw prints and there had been sightings,” she said. “I searched for 12 hours straight, but did not find her [and] I had to turn around to come home thinking ‘oh my God, I didn’t find her.’”

Alexander said the dog is close to 8 years old, wearing a green collar, friendly but on the shy side and responds well to food.

“Anyone who sees her should try to get down to her level,” Alexander said. “She needs a little time to warm up to strangers.”

Too many people around, tend to make the dog nervous, she added.

“The people of Fort Kent and the police helped try to catch her and look for her,” Alexander said. “They are just amazing.”

In addition, local mushers have joined the search, putting up flyers around the St. John Valley and following up on reported sightings.

Anyone who spots Bobbi or manages to catch her may call Alexander at 603-998-8161.

“I left little pieces of foam with my scent on it in the area we think she might be,” Alexander said. “I don’t want her to think we’re not looking for her or have abandoned her.”