Former Love Island Quebec contestant Skye-Zaiah Senecal says she had just moved into an apartment in Longueuil, on Montreal’s South Shore, when the unthinkable happened.
She says she left for work at 8 a.m. on Monday, when someone broke in, ransacked her home and made off with some personal items.
One item, however, was more valuable than others: her pug, Travis.
“When I arrived, I was looking for him everywhere and I called my mom and she told me that she didn’t tell anyone to come get him, so I asked security to look at the cameras and that’s when I saw that there was a man that came into my house and took my puppy,” she said.
Senecal, who starred in Season 3 of Love Island Quebec, says that the man had a collar with him, so it seems like he allegedly had a plan to take Travis with him.
“He knew exactly what he wanted,” said Senecal, adding that he entered the house at 8:07 a.m. and was in the apartment for approximately 12 minutes.
She posted the security footage on Instagram, hoping someone would see Travis and message her.
Family, friends, community groups and other users quickly began sharing the video.
“I just wanted my dog back,” she said.
Shortly after, Senecal’s cousin was on Instagram and noticed that influencer Nick Messina had posted about a pug on the Montreal Metro.
One of her family members identified the dog as Travis.
“You saw the guy get really mad at a little kid because he was looking at the dog a little bit too much,” said Senecal, who immediately texted the influencer and asked where he was.
She says she went to Montreal and began looking for him, but could not find him.
Eventually, she says someone recognized the man depicted in the video and called police, who located a suspect and returned the dog.
Alen Deljanin, a 33-year-old man who is known to police, was arrested on Wednesday and was charged with breaking and entering.
Senecal says Travis was unharmed and happy to return to his home.
“I don’t think he really realized what happened,” she said.
With reporting from CTV News Montreal’s Denise Roberts
