Four-legged happy ending

A notorious four-legged Penticton runaway has found his fur-ever home, and his new mom wanted to share the happy ending after discovering just how beloved he had been to the community.

Kim Trussell was shocked recently to discover her adopted dog Benny had quite the reputation in Penticton before he came into her life.

Benny used to be called Oreo, and Pentictonite dog lovers kept an eye on him when he was often found roaming a few years ago.

This was news to Trussell, who just recently discovered a trove of posts in local social media groups watching out for Oreo.

"The search was shocking. 'Oh that's Oreo, he escaped again!' 'Dog tied to a post outside gas station and left for hours,' 'Loose dog crossing highway,'" Trussell said, recounting what she found.

"To the posters and readers it wasn't an uncommon occurrence."

Trussell said she does not have any knowledge as to why Oreo was running, but knows for sure that she "needed him as much as he needed me."

Oreo, now Benny, bonded instantly with Trussell and her three children when they took him home a year ago.

"He has to be with us at all times. He has never been alone a minute in this last year and he has never ever tried to run away," Trussell said, adding it took a while to get Benny to be comfortable leaving the home at all.

But the work was worth it. Benny is loved and happy, and when Trussell discovered his history, she wanted to share that with the people of Penticton who watched out for him.

"As disturbing as reading all the posts about his abandonment was, there was also the comments of concerned people," Trussell said.

She made a post in a Penticton Facebook group, which immediately garnered attention from more than 100 commenters sharing their joy that Oreo/Benny has found his happy ending.

"He could not be more loved where he ended up," Trussell said.