Missing Dog, Dozer, Found Safe After Almost 2 Weeks

MATTITUCK, NY — A missing foster dog who did not know the area of his new home or his new name has been found safe after being gone for almost two weeks.

"He is safe and at the shelter," said Gabrielle Stroup, director of operations for The League — formerly know as the North Fork Animal Welfare League.

Stroup said cameras were put out Saturday by tracker Eddie Stepinski. "The trap was in the right spot, apparently," she said. "Two of my staff who have been looking non-stop and checking the trap got the call around 11 p.m. last night that he was in the trap; Eddie saw that from the camera," she said.

Denise Magyar had only just brought home her new foster Dozer, a neutered male Lab mix, one day earlier when he went missing on Feb. 2. She told Patch that Dozer did not know anything about the North Fork or even his new name.

According to Magyar, the dog was brought up from Georgia on a transport; he went missing Wednesday afternoon from Soundview Avenue in Mattituck.

Despite the fact that she has a triple gate system, and Dozer is on a 4-foot black leash, Magyar had an appointment and Dozer, who is afraid of men, bolted away from her husband, despite his best efforts to catch him.

The challenge in finding Dozer was that he was so shy and frightened, all agreed. "He's very skittish; he's scared," Magyar said.

For almost two weeks, the search continued, with volunteers from the shelter and the community driving around the area and trekking over properties in the snow — and even Dozer's sibling, "the alpha female," helping, Magyar said.

But now Dozer is at the shelter, safe and sound. "Thank you to everyone who called in with tips," Stroup said. "And thank you to our amazing staff."