Sukie the shelter pup was found safe—though quite emaciated—over a month after escaping from a New Jersey airport.
The 6-year-old Labrador retriever mix escaped her crate while being unloaded from a plane at the Newark Liberty International Airport on Sept. 15, NJ.com reported. The pup landed in New Jersey after being transported there from Amigos de los Animales, a shelter in Puerto Rico. She was on her way to her foster family in New York.
Tracker Jim Tierney eventually found Sukie after searching for the missing pooch for weeks. Tierney succeeded by setting up a trap near the airport, where he used food to try and lure Sukie toward the scent, WNYW reported. Tierney told the news outlet he used a total of six cameras in different locations to try and track down where she could possibly be. On Oct. 17, he finally caught her near some railroad tracks by the airport.
After hearing Sukie had been found, Adri Galler Lastra, director of Amigos de los Animales, flew from Puerto Rico to New Jersey to pick her up and help with her recovery. Despite being extremely thin, Sukie is in seemingly good condition and was very excited to reunite with a familiar face.
“She’s just bones, skin and bones. But she smiles and she’s happy,” Galler Lastra told NJ.com.
Magie Lugo, a volunteer at the shelter, joined Galler Lastra on the trip to New Jersey. While Sukie recovered from her wild month, she stayed with Lago. Lago told NJ.com she’s “overwhelmed with joy” that the shelter pup was finally found.
Michael Compton, Sukie’s former owner, rescued her back in Puerto Rico, he told WNYW. He saved Sukie along with other dogs because they were going to be thrown out “like trash.” He ended up having to give Sukie to the shelter after his wife became sick.
Sukie will soon have her happy ending, as she will be adopted by a woman who never found her lost dog, WNYW reported.
