Community braves the cold to search for Calgary teen's emotional support dog

Noble, a Calgary teen's emotional support poodle. (supplied)

A heartbroken Calgary family has gone sleepless as they desperately search for their beloved emotional support dog that escaped from the fenced yard of a friend's home and now faces the bitter cold.

Noble, an 11-month-old poodle, escaped from a yard on Deer Lane Close S.E. Sunday evening.

He's far more than just a pet to his family.

"We have a daughter who is special needs and she's 16," explained Teresa Wong, Noble's owner.  "She relies on him for emotional support. Aside from being a family member, he provides an extremely vital role to our daughter to help ground her and to help her in her daily life."

Wong says Noble is unfamiliar with the Deer Run area as the family lives in the north end of the city.

"Multiple people have been out looking for him throughout the community, into Fish Creek Park. He's just disappeared," said Wong. "We're not sure if someone maybe found him and (has) taken him in, or if he's just in hiding right now trying to stay warm."

The search for the microchipped dog has expanded into Fish Creek Provincial Park as well as the neighbouring communities of Queensland, Parkland, Canyon Meadows and Lake Bonavista.

"Our kids are devastated," said Wong through tears. "They haven't been sleeping. We haven't been sleeping.

"We've had some wonderful people stick it out with us. On the first night, we were out until 4 a.m. combing the neighbourhood and looking around. We came back the next morning at about 8. People have been hitting the streets by about 7 o'clock in the morning. Updating us with whether or not they've seen anything on their dog walks."

Officials say that while they appreciate assistance in locating the dog, they would like residents to stay out of the search area.

Anyone spots Noble near their home is asked to bring him to any veterinary clinic or to report the sighting to his owners.