Sven, a seven year old search and rescue dog has been missing in the area for about two weeks.
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Sven, a 7-year-old German Shepherd who is also a certified search and rescue dog, is still missing.
Sven went missing back on Oct. 5 from the New York and Pennsylvania border between Ashville and Sugar Grove. He has been training as a search and rescue dog since he was about a year old and has all of his certifications. His owner and handler Bryonna Ford works with him as a part of the Cherry Grove Search and Rescue Department in Cherry Grove, Pennsylvania. Ford is also a student at Jamestown Community College and works part time at a dental office.
“We’ve had some possible sightings but nothing positive that we can go off of,” Ford said. “We are offering $1,000 for his return.”
Since his disappearance Ford and her family have been doing all they can to find him, including on social media and search parties.
“We’ve been on foot using ATVs,” Ford said. “We’ve had people come look through the woods with their horses. We’ve had cars go up and down the roads and somebody came with his drones and searched the area. There’s over 700 flyers out and posters around.”
The family has also had the news out about Sven on the radio and television. They have also been doing side by sides, walking searches, and even night time searches. They have also consulted with a trapper to set traps for him once he has been spotted. They said that he is not a runner and has never previously wandered off.
The last time Sven was spotted was around Wellman Road and Blossom Road, but Ford said it was hard to know for sure if that was him or not because a lot of people on Blossom Road have German Shepherds.
If Sven is located Ford asks that you do not call out to him or chase him, but instead take a picture and get an exact location and contact her.
“Take a picture if you can without getting close or scaring him,” Ford said. “Don’t call out to him or try to chase him. Just call me and when you call please call with an exact location and time of sighting and I will come out to find him.”
As a search and rescue dog Sven has done a service to his community, and the family asks now that the community helps him by finding him and bringing him home.
“He has a loving home,” Ford said. “He is deeply missed. Please call me if you see him.”
Ford can be reached at 716-456-1070.