Have you seen Harry? This life-sized fibreglass horse was stolen from outside of a B.C. business in broad daylight

Harry, a fiberglass horse that has served as a mascot and greeter for a B.C. business for 17 years, was stolen on Monday, June 20, 2022.

A life-sized fibreglass horse that a Kelowna, B.C., business owner describes as a local icon and part of the family was stolen Monday, loaded into a U-Haul in broad daylight.

Since 1995, "Harry" has stood outside of Kelowna's Diamond H Tack Inc., a store that sells horse supplies, feed and saddles. He was made by Prewitt Fiberglass Animals in the 1970s and painted to look like an Appaloosa.

Co-owner Heather Robson says the brazen theft, at 4:50 p.m., came as a complete shock.

"He was outside, we were ready to close up, we were just helping our last customer. When she arrived he was outside and when we took (her) feed out, he was gone," she tells CTV News.

"It took them less than a minute and a half to load him up and drive away."

The theft has been reported to the Kelowna RCMP but Robson hopes that spreading the word will lead to someone coming forward with dash-cam video or information. When he was taken, he was modelling one of the store's offerings: a Kool Coat, which is a sheet designed to protect horses from the sun and bugs.

"Obviously he's part of our family. He's been with us for 27 years, since my partner and I started the business. It's independently owned, we're not a conglomerate or a big box store. He's our open and closed sign," she says. "We miss him, we want him back."

Robson says Harry is mounted on a metal platform with wheels, allowing him to be rolled in and out of the store each day easily. The owners developped that system after learning a city by-law meant they weren't allowed to put him on the roof as they originally planned.

In addition to functioning as a de facto greeter for the store's customers, Harry is often loaned out for events like parades, Western-themed parties and 4H functions. Robson says he also serves as a landmark, with people giving directions by saying things like "turn left at the store with the horse." 

Although there is an open investigation, Robson says she's hoping the thieves will bring back the beloved mascot on their own.

"We just want him returned, no questions asked. We just want him back."