A story of a lost dog, with a twist, has brought the Empress Hotel worldwide attention.
The dog, Boris, is actually a stuffed animal who disappeared when he inadvertently found his way into the Empress laundry just before Canada Day. Owner Annelies Vredeveldt of the Netherlands, who takes Boris on all of her travels, had to head home without her sleeping companion. She had been here for a psychology conference.
But the separation lasted only a short time.
“Two weeks later, I come home to find him in the mail with this letter and a bunch of photos,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “Oh Canadians.”
The letter that accompanied Boris, written by Empress housekeeping manager Greg Pohlod, repeated an apology for the delay in tracking down Boris and said that he was treated well.
“We ensured that he enjoyed Canada Day here at the Empress in Victoria and all the staff enjoyed having him on our country’s special day.”
The pictures that came with the letter were of Boris at various spots around the hotel, and were included in Vredeveldt’s Facebook post.
The Facebook exposure drew a quick response from her contacts.
“That is absolutely brilliant,” one wrote. “How funny and thoughtful of them.”
“My God I love Canadians,” wrote another.
The saga of the stuffie began when it got mixed in with sheets while Vredeveldt’s room was being cleaned, said Angela Rafuse-Tahir, Empress director of sales and marketing.
“The guest realized that he was missing, wasn’t sure she’d ever be reunited and we said, ‘We’ll keep an eye out for him.’ ”
Sure enough, a very clean Boris was eventually retrieved from the wash and Vredeveldt was notified. It was Pohlod’s idea to show Boris a good time on Canada Day as a way of atoning for getting him mixed in with the bedding, Rafuse-Tahir said.
“He wanted to have a little fun with it and try to make it up to the guest.”
The light-hearted saga has clearly charmed people, and it has drawn plenty of notice, Rafuse-Tahir said. Media outlets have called from far afield.
“Everywhere across Canada. International, as well.”
