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Woman Discovers Why Her Dog Goes Missing For Days At A Time

March 7, 2019

Rachel Howatt of Winkler, Manitoba, was worried when her dog first went missing for a few days around Christmas.

Thanks to a game camera, she finally knows where she's been going.

But more importantly, who she's going to see.

Credit: Rachel Howatt

"Remember when I posted that Koda our little renegade husky was missing around Christmas time for a number of days?" Howatt wrote in a Facebook post on March 1.

"I finally learnt what she was doing in the valley for so long after our neighbour checked his game cams.. and I’m amazed.. I still can’t believe this!! Sleeps, eats, and plays around with a buck she made ‘friends' with.. WOW such an unbelievable pooch."

Credit: Rachel Howatt

The female husky, Koda, disappeared for three days prior to Christmas from her cattle ranch in Pembina Valley. The dog returned Dec. 23, happy and healthy, Howatt told the Winnipeg Free Press.

It wasn't until months later that Howatt learned where Koda went.

A neighbor had trekked to his hunting cabin and retrieved the memory card from one of his game cameras. The man discovered hundreds of shots of Koda and the buck in each other's company.

Credit: Rachel Howatt

"You’re joking! There’s no way that’s the truth," Howatt recalled saying. "I need to see proof before I believed it."

And there it was.

"Hundreds of pictures of Koda and this buck. They spent whole (days) together," she said.

After Howatt posted some of the photos on Facebook, she was told another neighbor had spotted the unlikely duo walking on a country road together.

Credit: Rachel Howatt

Howatt is certain that Koda still visits her new friend.

"It kind of makes sense now, because she does still disappear for a few hours at a time. I joke it’s to check up on this new friend she’s got in the valley," Howatt said.