Loki, the cairn terrier found at the Hinton landfill before Christmas, has been returned to her rightful owner.

Bianca Hannula, of Hinton, was alerted by a friend that her missing dog, Toto, was on the front page of the Jan. 12 edition of the Fitzhugh last week, nearly a month after Toto went missing.

The five-year-old pup ran off from Hannula’s home on Dec. 23 and didn’t return home. That same day, Facundo Tio-Tio found her cold and alone at the landfill, and brought her home to Jasper. 

Toto didn’t have tags or a tattoo, so Tio-Tio left his name and number with the landfill workers on duty, in case someone came looking for the dog.

Hannula lives about five kilometres outside of Hinton on an acreage. She said it would be about a 10-minute run for Toto to get to the dump.

Both Toto and Hannula’s other dog, Spike, ran away together that day, but Spike came home at 11 p.m. that night.

“He came back all by himself and he stank to high heavens. We weren’t quite sure what the heck they’d gotten into and we never even thought of the dump,” Hannula said.

The following day, Hannula and her family went to Westlock to see her parents for Christmas, but not before calling in a radio advertisement, alerting her neighbours and contacting the SPCA.

Hannula said she had begun to think Toto had been attacked by an animal.

But then she got the call from her friend and saw the newspaper for herself on Jan. 18.

“We were just so happy to hear she was alive and well taken care of,” she said. “It was just lucky she was alright.”

The same day she saw the paper, Hannula’s husband drove to Jasper to retrieve their dog from Deb Lucki, who had adopted her earlier this month.

“He came that night,” said Lucki, “so you knew it wasn’t just a frivolous thing for them. 

“They were thrilled to death,” she said. 

Lucki can’t deny being disappointed, though. She said Toto, whom she called Loki, was “the best dog” and was really starting to settle into her home.

“But the dog’s back where she belongs,” she said. “Although we fell in love with her instantly, everyone deserves their dog back.”

And there’s also an added bonus for Lucki; Hannula said if Toto is ever to have puppies, Lucki will be the first to take one home.

“That’s cool!” said Lucki