Bring back Chiko: Sask. couple’s house robbed while trying to find lost dog

For many of us, our furry friends are a part of the family.

They make us laugh, smile and feel loved, but Rachelle Zacharias and Braden Fauchoux are missing that right now.

The couple lives on an acreage west of Saskatoon, where tragedy struck last week.

The two own a little French bulldog named Chiko.

It seemed like a normal day for them. They let the pup out to go to the bathroom. Only this time, Chiko never came back.

“There was a set of vehicle tracks that had pulled over close to the ditch, and that’s where Chiko’s pawprints ended. We assumed right away that somebody had picked him up and that he hadn’t run away,” Zacharias explained.

“We were just hoping that it was somebody (who) was planning on returning him, and maybe saw him on the street and didn’t want him to get hit by a vehicle or just wanted to keep him safe.”

Sadly, those hopes would amount to nothing.

The couple posted on social media everywhere they could think of, in hopes someone knew where Chiko had gone.

Finally, Saturday night, a ray of hope came through … though it would turn out to be something sinister.

Someone said they had bought a dog that looked just like Chiko. They sent a photo, and Zacharias knew it was him.

“We had never seen that picture before. It was 100 per cent our Chiko. The only thing was that there was a new collar on him,” she said.

The couple was told to meet at a restaurant parking lot in Martensville at 11 p.m. It was about a 25-minute drive.

“It’s a little bit of a hike for us to get there, but we didn’t really think about it. All we cared about was getting our dog back, so we didn’t mind hitting the road so late,” Zacharias explained.

Once they showed up, things started to feel fishy.

“They were still texting saying, ‘Sorry, we’re just running a little bit late.’ I kind of had a gut feeling something was off, just because it’s already 11 p.m. and you’re running late. This is kind of weird,” she recalled.

About a half hour later, she realized it was unlikely that she would be reunited with Chiko that night.

But the pair were in for a nasty surprise when they got home.

“We headed home and first thing we saw when we walked in the door, our bedroom mattress had been flipped upside down, all the doors had been smashed open, every room in our house was ransacked,” Zacharias said.

“It was disgusting.”

She believes that whoever had Chiko lured them out of the home so they could rob it.

Jewelry, cash and their security cameras were all missing.

“We feel a little violated because people were in our house, and that’s never a good feeling. It’s kind of like an eerie, gross feeling. It’s not the most pleasant,” Zacharias continued.

But even with that in mind, her top priority is to get Chiko home.

“I know there’s a lot of people out there looking for him, keeping their eyes out, and we really appreciate it. That’s just our No. 1 goal is to get our little guy home,” she said.

The couple has put multiple posts on social media to see if anyone knows Chiko’s whereabouts. They’re also in touch with police about both the break-in and the dog.