By Joan Janzen

Does anyone remember 'The Littlest Hobo' television series? Well, Pat and Larry Constable from Burstall shared their story about their 'biggest Hobo'. The black Lab became famous on social media when he was first spotted roaming across the prairies eight km west of Leader last October.

A nearby acreage owner described the dog as "male, not friendly and growling." In spite of his crusty disposition, she began feeding him and encouraged him to return for his daily meal.

**Hobo cozies up to Pat for the first time at a farmyard garage.**

**This was the first time Hobo, the stray black Lab was seen in Burstall on November 19, 2024.** *Photo by Jenna Krien*

**Today Hobo is a happy member of Pat and Larry Constable's household since February 13, 2025.**

But the big black Lab had other plans and showed up on the highway at Burstall on November 19. "I don't know what happened," Pat said. "Maybe something scared him, but he showed up in Burstall." And that's when Pat and her husband Larry became involved.

"I can't stand seeing animals being hungry," Pat explained. The canine would wander around at night. "He kept the coyotes and deer out of town, but so many people were irritated by his bark, which is a really loud bark," Pat said. Whenever people approached him he got scared, barked and backed away. Pat decided to name him Hobo.

The Burstall couple discovered Hobo lying near a church, so Pat placed straw nearby and started feeding him there. People in the community began to notice Pat's efforts and would drop off bags of dog food.

Hobo would eat out of an ice cream pail and totally destroy the pail, so Pat thought he needed a toy. Neighbours and friends pitched in and contributed dog toys, but Hobo wasn't interested. He preferred playing with ice cream pails.

While Pat was trying to get close to Hobo, she said someone was chasing him at night with a flashlight, so he would run away when she tried to get close to him. But Pat and Larry persevered, driving around until they located their precious Hobo.

"When he saw our truck, he'd lift his head. I would roll the food off my hand, he'd pick it up and then bark at me. That went on for a week," she recalled. Temperatures were dipping as low as -30 degrees and she was worried he didn't have a place to stay warm.

Pat and Larry followed him during the day as he made his rounds outside the town. By the end of January, Pat was convinced Hobo was leaving town; however, a school bus driver said she had seen the dog on a farm outside of Burstall.

Pat immediately contacted the young family who lived there and began feeding Hobo every morning. "I'd sit in a snow bank and call him," Pat said. Hobo became friends with the farmer's dog Rusty, but he was also warming up to his human buddies.

Once again, one of Pat's neighbours helped by feeding Hobo at the farm each afternoon until the dog ate out of her hand. Their next plan of action was to lure Hobo into the farmer's garage. Rusty led the kids into the garage, and Hobo followed; it was as simple as that.

"We closed the door; we didn't know what he would do," Pat said. "He never barked. He laid down, the kids were petting him, we were petting him." The once stray, growling dog had transformed into a gentle giant.

While Hobo became comfortable in the garage, Pat and Larry were making plans to lure him into their truck. "We put sausage all along the floor of our truck and kept calling him until he finally jumped in," Pat said. "He was so calm in the truck like he had always been there."

"We tried to get him in the house. He hesitated at first, but then he walked in and laid down, and the rest is history."

Pat and Larry love Hobo, and everyone falls in love with him. He shakes a paw. He never had a leash, but they've trained him with a harness because he's such a big dog. His friends from Leader stop by to see him.

"We don't know where he was or how long he was on the loose. I just wish he could talk," Pat said. But Hobo isn't revealing his secret past; he's much more interested in his comfy bed in his new home with Pat and Larry.

"We never wanted another dog 'cause we're in our late 70's, but Hobo is a blessing, and he's made our lives so much better," Pat concluded.