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A Manitoba dog owner says she was told she would have to pay a pet rescue $150 for them to return her dog when he escaped her sister’s yard.

Melissa Morden says she and her family went to visit her sister in Stonewall and brought their dog, Trigger, to play with her sister’s canine.

“I put him out in the backyard just after 11:30 a.m and he was playing around,” she said. “Ten minutes later, I went out to get him and I noticed he wasn’t out in the yard anymore.”

Panicked, Morden said she packed up her kids, she and her sister got into separate vehicles and started looking for Trigger.

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“We looked for five hours for him couldn’t find him … we were scared.” Tweet This

After several hours, Morden said she got a text message from the Homeless and Injured Animal Rescue of Canada (HIARC), where Trigger was originally adopted. The text message said: “Are you missing something?”

“So I replied, asking her if she knew where [Trigger] was, and she just [texted] ‘Yes.'”

Upset at the lack of information on Trigger’s whereabouts, Morden said she texted back, asking where he was so she could pick him up.

The reply stated that they knew where the dog was, but “with your attitude, I’m not helping you,” said Morden.

It was then, Morden says, she started to believe that the rescue may have stolen her dog.

A second text demanded $150 from Morden for information on her dog’s whereabouts.

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Text messages from a dog rescue asking for money to return a lost dog. Provided

That’s when Morden went to police, she said.

“I was absolutely fuming … I have never in my life felt that kind of stress.” Tweet This

Morden’s sister, Larisa Wahoski, confirmed Morden’s story and said she couldn’t believe what happened.

“We had faith that driving around we’d find him in town,” said Wahoski. “And for five hours we saw no sign of him. We were very confused.”

It turns out, Trigger was at a neighbour’s house, and when they found the dog, the neighbour called HIARC in the hopes the rescue would be able to help him get home, said Morden.

“[The rescue] wants money from me to pay to get him back … and [they] didn’t even have him.” Tweet This

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RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre confirmed the Stonewall detachment had to get involved to see Trigger returned home safely.

“Their investigation tracked down where the text messages were coming from and we were able to have the dog returned to its owner,” said Manaigre.

“We don’t normally see these types of cases. They come across every now and then that makes your head shake a bit.”

Global News reached out to HIARC to ask why the group was demanding money for the dog.

“We did no such thing,” a group spokesperson initially said. “I’m not asking for $150 for information on where he is.”

After being asked again and shown the text message exchange, a spokesperson for HIARC told Global News they did not steal Trigger and they had every right to demand a fee.

READ MORE: Hundreds show up to play with dogs at Winnipeg Animal Services on Christmas

“The fee was imposed … just like the Pound, WHS and WAS do, for us to go get the dog and bring it to his home, investigate why he ran away, educate the owner on how to prevent this from happening again and to make sure they are caring for their dog,” they messaged.

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The HIARC posted a message on Facebook Thursday afternoon, stating the group said it doesn’t normally charge a fee.

“HIARC has never charged a fee to anyone who we have found their dog even though the Pound, the WHS and WAS all require a fee to pick up your lost dog.”

Then went on to say Morden’s “negative behaviour” is why they changed their mind.

“Is it all wrong after being accused of stealing a dog that we found roaming around to charge a fee to bring him home and to investigate the reason he ran away and to educate the owner on how to prevent this from happening again and to make sure they still care for him?”‘ Tweet This

Police were able to return the dog, without the owners paying any fee.

“He was ten steps away from us the whole time,” Morden said. “He was just across the street at the neighbour’s house. She had found him walking in her yard.”