Search-and-rescue canine is missing

Sarge, a 7-year-old black Labrador, got out of his fenced-in yard in Lambertville April 12.

By: Linda Seida
   LAMBERTVILLE — A search-and-rescue dog named Sarge, who has spent most of his life helping to find missing people, has gone missing himself, and his owners are hoping someone out there can help rescue him now.
   The 7-year-old black Labrador retriever, an adept fence-jumper who has struck out on his own before, got out of his fenced-in yard on Douglas Street on April 12. Only one sighting has been reported since then when Sarge was spotted that same day along Route 518 at about 5 p.m.
   He could be as far south as the Hopewell area by now, according to his owner, Pat Pittore.
   Mr. Pittore is offering an unspecified monetary reward for information that leads to Sarge’s safe return.
   "It depends on how much the information helps," Mr. Pittore said Monday. "But we will be glad to offer a reward."
   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.
   Mr. Pittore’s wife, Spring Pittore, also performs searches with her dog, Nutmeg. Nutmeg is a mixed breed trained in water rescue as well as urban and wilderness rescue.
   Sarge has taken jaunts away from home before, and he always returned after a short time.
   "But this is different," Mr. Pittore said.
   Sarge is adept at jumping fences, Mr. Pittore said. But he also knows how to find his way back home after such an adventure, and he comes when his master calls him.
   Mr. Pittore worries Sarge may have traveled farther this time, possibly to the Hopewell area. He also fears something has spooked Sarge.
   "He’s being shy of people for some reason," Mr. Pittore said.
   The missing Lab weighs about 72 pounds. The area under his nose is turning white. He is wearing a collar with his name and the Pittores’ phone number.
   Anyone with information is asked to call Mr. Pittore’s cell phone at (609) 577-7320 or his home at 397-1272.