Yay, Buddy!
L.I. dog, lost for weeks, turns up
FOR THE Humphrey family, home is where the hound is — and their beloved Buddy is finally back.
The ecstatic Long Islanders welcomed the beagle-Labrador mix back to their Wantagh residence Saturday, three weeks after the prodigal pet went missing while the Humphreys vacationed in Disney World.
“We’re over the moon, over the moon,” said mom Mary Ellen Humphrey, 52. “He’s got a bunch of ticks, a bunch of cuts on his feet, and a couple of fleas.
“Now he’s lying down with the kids watching a movie. My son won’t let go of him.”
Buddy was placed in the care of Wag!, a pet-sitting service billed as Uber for dogs, when the family made their trip to Florida last month.
The getaway was interrupted by a Sept. 20 phone call reporting that Buddy had bolted through an open door and disappeared.
A massive doghunt ensued, with Wag! officials hiring a drone operator at one point in the search for the prized pooch.
This week, Humphrey personally hired a dog-tracking company in Maine to locate her still-missing pet.
By Friday morning, the Buddy hunters arrived with five dogs, picked up the pet’s scent and descended on the Tackapausha Nature Preserve about 2 miles from their home.
And then fate intervened. A woman in the neighborhood spotted Buddy sitting alongside a giant “Find Buddy” poster bearing a picture of the dog.
The hungry dog — after losing 8 pounds during his ordeal — was lured into custody with cheeseburgers from McDonald’s shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday.
“I drove around and ran in there,” recounted Humphrey. “He just started licking me and licking me and licking me.”
Buddy wound up scarfing down three double cheeseburgers during the family reunion.
The folks at Wag! were just as pleased by the happy ending to this dog’s tale.
“We’re absolutely delighted that Buddy was found safely,” said spokeswoman Dini von Mueffling. “We spoke to Mary Ellen, and all seems well.”