Missing Hamptons Pup Whose Owners Are Away Home Safe

EAST HAMPTON, NY — A puppy missing in East Hampton whose owners are away has found his way home.

Teddy Henn of Lost Dog Search & Rescue had been out looking for Stanley, who is just 6 months old, since Monday.

"He's only a puppy," said Charmaine DeRosa, who works with Henn.

But on Thursday, there was good news. "Stanley is safe!" a post on Facebook from Lost Dog Search & Rescue said.

Lola Pierce told Patch that Stanley is her family's dog. "We've only had him for two months," she said.

Stanley went missing at Stephen Hands Path and Hands Creek in East Hampton on Monday. Pierce said her family divides their time between East Hampton and the United Kingdom; she was watching Stanley until the dogs get sent overseas next week.

"My boyfriend and I were driving out here — and we were just five minutes from the house," she said.

Their family also has two other dogs, who were in the car. "The windows were halfway down and Stanley is small, so either he fell out of the car or jumped," she said.

They stopped the car, but Stanley, who she said "spooked himself," began to run, Pierce said. "He might have been playing a game, because he'd run, then sit and wait while we'd catch up, then run again."

Stanley, she said, ran through a circular driveway and then down through the street. Her boyfriend ran on foot, and she followed in the car. At one point, Pierce said she was "so close," at a dead end, but then Stanley bolted into the woods.

According to Henn's post, his organization put up 200 flyers. "The sightings started coming in from Stephen Hands Creek Road, all the way to the cemetery on Cedar Street, miles away, and then back to Stephen Hands Creek and Dongan Way," the post said.

Stanley, the group said, "avoided two traps that were set, walking by them within 50 feet. He didn't even look at them, as if he didn't see or smell the food. At least four times, he appeared out on a very busy road; Teddy had to race around him and stop on-coming traffic headed toward him at high speed — just to get him off the road."

Good Samaritans helped push him off the busy road, as well, the Lost Dog Search & Rescue Group said. "We left at 1:30 a.m. this morning, and Stanley showed up back at his door scratching — a door he's only been at three times — at 5:30 a.m., safe!"

Henn's group extended their thanks to East Hampton Animal Control for updating sightings, the residents that allowed them to put traps and cameras on their properties, and "the wonderful community of East Hampton that helped."

Pierce said she was relieved when the pup scratched at the door. Since he arrived home after his adventure, he's been happy, "getting attention and eating with the other dogs."

Pierce said she and her family also wanted to thank the community for the support. "It's really nice to know so many people cared and were looking out. It gave us hope that we'd find him."