The owner of a prize-winning English Mastiff is offering a reward for the safe return of her pet.
Christina Rehmann believes her seven-month-old dog Bruce Almighty was stolen. He's won top prizes at his first dog show in Battle River last weekend, but has been missing ever since.
"These big dogs are valuable, they are difficult to breed, they are difficult to raise, he had the potential to be a champion which would have led to a breeding career," said Rehmann.
Rehmann dropped her dog off at home last Sunday following the show, and she's certain he didn't run away.
"They are just really low-energy dogs, they have really low metabolism, they might go for a walk but they are not travellers," she said.
Bruce is a registered dog with a chip and he'd be flagged as stolen if he were ever taken to a veterinarian, which leads some to believe he may have been taken to a puppy mill.
"That would be a great fear that I would have because if it ends up in a puppy mill it would be very hard to trace that, unless you do DNA research," said Shannon Grabill with the Edmonton Kennel Club.
The RCMP are investigating Bruce's disappearance as a theft, but as an extra measure, Rehmann is offering a $1,000 reward for his return.
"There are so many opportunities to get a big dog like this legitimately."
