Pat and Spring Pittore’s 7-year-old Labrador, who specialized in finding missing people, was found, weak and dehydrated with about 200 puncture wounds, Tuesday morning. He got out of his fenced-in yard on Douglas Street in Lambertville April 12.
By: Linda Seida
LAMBERTVILLE A search-and-rescue dog named Sarge, who specialized in finding missing people until he went missing himself last week, was reunited with his owner Tuesday after a motorist found the wounded animal in West Amwell.
The 7-year-old black Labrador retriever, who spent 10 days working at the World Trade Center after the 2001 terrorist attacks, was seen wandering along Route 518 Tuesday morning.
Sarge had about 200 puncture or bite wounds, said the dog’s owner, Pat Pittore of Lambertville, after his dog was evaluated at the Lambertville Animal Clinic on Tuesday afternoon.
"Something was kind of chewing on him. The wounds need fairly in-depth treatment," he said. "The doc didn’t think he would last a whole lot longer. We were fortunate to get him back when we did."
Sarge, who normally weighs about 72 pounds, appears to have lost weight and is dehydrated, he said.
"He’s beat up in the back end," Mr. Pittore said. He said he spotted "some blood" and noticed a few of the dog’s nails were missing.
"He’s walking, but very weak," Mr. Pittore said.
One of the injuries is about the size of a half-dollar and penetrated to the muscle, he said.
"We don’t think he was shot. The X-rays were negative," he added.
Sarge spent Tuesday night trying to regain his strength and being treated with IV fluids. Surgery was planned, possibly for Wednesday, if he was strong enough.
Sarge got out of his fenced Douglas Street yard April 12.
Motorist JoAnn Perkins of West Amwell was on her way to work Tuesday morning when she spotted Sarge along the side of Route 518, east of Hewitt Road in the township, Mr. Pittore said.
Former West Amwell Township Police Officer Tim Lelie happened upon Ms. Perkins and Sarge while running an errand and called the Lambertville Police Department, according to a spokeswoman for the department. An officer was dispatched to remove Sarge from harm’s way on the busy road and bring him back to the station, but by the time Officer Joe Weber arrived, Mr. Pittore and his wife, Spring Pittore, already were there.
When Mr. Lelie arrived on the scene, he saw Sarge plopped in front of Ms. Perkins’ car in the middle of the road.
"He just walked out and just kind of flagged her down," Mr. Lelie said.
"He was just so exhausted, he just laid down in the road," Mr. Pittore added.
Sarge was emaciated and hesitant to taken even water from Mr. Lelie.
"At first he wouldn’t even look at it," he said.
He continued to offer water in his cupped hands, and after Sarge took a few licks, he was encouraged to take more.
Mr. Lelie and his family had gone out looking for the rescue dog frequently. Their search was prompted by his daughter, 8-year-old Lauren, who attends West Amwell Elementary School where Mrs. Pittore is a school nurse.
"Actually, Lauren has been telling us she heard a strange dog barking every night," said Mr. Lelie, who lives on Goat Hill Road. "We just kind of dismissed it as wishful thinking on her part."
Now, he said, Lauren just might have been right.
Mr. Pittore wondered if Sarge had been attacked by another dog or even a coyote. Mr. Lelie added he has seen coyotes in the area as well as a bear.
Mr. Pittore had offered an unspecified monetary reward for information leading to Sarge’s safe return. He said he intended to discuss a reward with Ms. Perkins.
Sarge began training for urban and wilderness rescues when he was a year old. He works with the Palisades Search and Rescue Dog Association and the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management Urban Search and Rescue, known as Task Force 1.
One of Sarge’s biggest jobs was at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, when he was able to detect the location of the body of a fallen firefighter. Sarge spent 10 days in New York City performing building searches.
His other jobs include the search earlier this year for missing Stockton canoeist Jody Suozzo; an explosion at the Petco store in Eatontown in 2005; and the collapse of the Tropicana Hotel garage in 2003.
Sarge, who is adept at jumping fences, has taken jaunts away from home before and he always returned after a short time, according to Mr. Pittore.
Until this latest adventure, however, Sarge always knew how to find his own way back home.