Taylor Snee rescued the pup, Jake, on Sunday morning after seeing it scamper across a street near her home. Watch video
ROBBINSVILLE -- A township teenager reunited a dog with its Florida owners Wednesday morning, several days after the dog escaped them at a New Jersey Turnpike rest area last weekend.
Taylor Snee rescued the pup, Jake, on Sunday morning after seeing it scamper across a street near her home.
The next day, after some doggy detective work, the 19-year-old was in touch with Iwona Kowalczyk, who explained Jake ran away last Friday when she and her husband stopped at the Woodrow Wilson rest area during a trip from Florida to Connecticut to see their daughter's college graduation.
Taylor Snee, left, with Jerry and Iwona Kowalczyk, and Jake. (Kevin Shea | NJ Advance Media) After searching for Jake for about four hours in foreign territory, the heartbroken Kowalczyks said they had to drive on, not wanting to miss the commencement. They had planned to return to the rest area on their way back and post fliers.
On Wednesday morning, on their way home to Bradenton, Fla., the Kowalczyk's pulled into Snee's driveway.
Jake, who had been sleeping on Snee's lap while waiting on the front porch, recognized his owner as Snee walked toward the couple's car.
"My goodness, where were you?" Where did you think you were going?" Iwona Kowalczyk said to the excited Jake.
"Thank you so much," she said to Snee.
"He's so excited to see you, I'm so happy," said Snee, a self-described animal lover who works at the Chesterfield Veterinary Clinic in Bordentown Township.
"Well, he couldn't be in better hands, unbelievable," Kowalczyk said.
The Kowalczyk's brought Snee a bouquet of red roses and a thank you card with a $100 bill inside.
The reunion wouldn't have happened, Snee said, if she hadn't glanced in her rearview mirror Sunday morning while driving home from a pet-sitting gig.
She saw something dart across Merrick Road - which runs behind the rest stop - and thought it might be a rodent. Then she saw it dragging a leash.
The teen stopped, backed up and followed after the dog on foot as it ran through tall grass. When she got closer, it had burrowed under a resident's shed, she said.
Snee laid down in the dirt and saw two "beady little eyes" staring back at her. The dog was shaking and scared.
Taylor Snee with Jake in her right hand, and her own dog Jackson. (Kevin Shea | NJ Advance Media) For the next two hours, she coaxed him out by talking and baiting him with bits of beef jerky, supplied by the resident.
"It was a little bit of him inching toward me and a little bit of me pulling him out," Snee said.
She took him home, gave him a bath and found the tag on his collar said "Manatee County."
On Monday morning, because Jake was registered, she was emailing Iwona Kowalczyk.
Kowalczyk said Wednesday she only adopted Jake about two months ago, from a friend who recused him from the streets near their Florida home. "He's a runner," she said.
When Kowalczyk and her husband Jerry got out of their car at the northbound rest stop at about 3 p.m. last Friday, Jake bolted.
The couple is not sure why he ran, but it was their first long car trip with him. They called out to him and someone tried to step on his leash, but he was too fast, the couple said.
Iowana Kowalczyk ran after Jake and saw him several times, but he would not slow down and she lost him.
The couple said they wanted to show him off to their daughter, who graduated from Fairfield University Sunday.
"You can imagine how hard it was to leave him," Iowana Kowalczyk said Wednesday.
When they heard from Snee, they were stunned.
"I can't believe it," Iwona Kowalczyk said in the Snee's driveway, while Jake licked her face.
After several more goodbyes, the couple drove away with Jake, who had slept in Snee's bed the past few days.
"I am just so happy," Snee said.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.