Pooch hits the road in search of his vacationing owner

[diandpat]

This is kind of cute...

ALYCIA AMBROZIAK, The Gazette
Published: Thursday, April 13, 2006

Once in a while, Heiner Kammann, president of WECO Electrical Connectors in Baie d'Urfe, takes his dog, Merlin, to work with him, both enjoying the 1.5-kilometre walk from his home.

Last week however, Merlin made the trip alone, apparently searching for Kammann, who was enjoying a couple of weeks in South Africa with his wife to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.

"I was sitting in my office when I thought I heard a dog whining," Allison Lecavalier, Kammann's executive assistant, said last Thursday as Merlin drank water from a vase in her office. "I looked out the window and there he was."

Lecavalier immediately brought Merlin in and called Kammann's daughter, Johanna, to tell her the family's 10-year-old dog was safe.

"I thought my brother had him," said Johanna, a John Abbott College student. Merlin, a German Shepherd and hound mix, is usually kept on the family property with an electronic collar and fencing, she said. But last Thursday, he wasn't wearing his collar.

"Merlin had to walk under Highway 20, go across the train tracks and through part of the industrial area to get here," she said. "I'm sure he followed the same path my father uses when he walks to work with him."

Jonathan France, manager of human resources at the company, which produces terminal blocks and electronic modules for electrical and electronic industries, said the unexpected arrival of the boss's dog was a treat for everyone.

"His presence brought the whole office to a standstill for 15 minutes, while we all wondered at this feat of loyalty and navigation," he said.

Lecavalier said she reached Kammann in South Africa to tell him about Merlin's exploits.

"He laughed and said that now he was sure that someone missed him," Lecavalier said.

As she was leaving the office with Merlin to go back home, Johanna said: "Merlin is definitely my father's dog."
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006