Missing puppy rescued after running through Holland Tunnel

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Puppy rescued after running through Holland Tunnel

An adventurous puppy was rescued after it was seen running through the Holland Tunnel on Sunday.

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- An adventurous puppy was rescued after it was seen running through the Holland Tunnel on Sunday.

The 7-month-old Akita and Shepard mix, named Bailey, had reportedly been missing for five days when the Holland Tunnel main desk received a call of a loose dog in the north tube around 9:15 a.m.

"Friday the 29th I got a message from the owner and he's like, he ran away," Bailey's trainer Harriet Zucker said.

It was on that day Bailey's adventure began - with a dip in the Gowanus Bay, but he underestimated the strength of the water and was fortunately spotted by a man at the beach.

"He had a paddleboard so he went out on the paddleboard thinking he could get the dog to come on the board, but the dog was too scared," Zucker said. "So, he realized that he could, he herded them into the shore. I mean, he kind of saved his life."

A week went by with Bailey still on the loose - until Saturday.

"Then the next thing he was at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel," Zucker said.

But rescuers were too late. Bailey had made his escape into Manhattan.

It was on Sunday that Bailey was spotted running through the Holland Tunnel.

"I was just like, what -- are you kidding," Zucker said.

Video posted on social media showed the dog in the tunnel, with a police car following behind.

"We didn't realize which dog, that this was the famous dog that had been running around at that point," said Andrew Vignapiano of the Port Authority Police Department. "We're in a different state, you wouldn't assume."

As crews arrived, Bailey dashed towards the exit into Jersey City, into a Home Depot parking garage on 12th Street and ran up to the second floor and onto a ledge above the store.

"Being at a height and having to wrestle a dog is not something I really was looking forward to," Vignapiano said.

Officers got to him, but it wasn't easy.

"At this point it feels cornered and scared," Vignapiano said. "It's got these lights and these officers screaming at him 'come back this way,' and he's reached the end of his rope basically."

With nowhere else for Bailey to go, the officer made his move.

When one of the other officers were distracting the pooch, Vignapiano was able to get the lead around Bailey's neck.