Missing Hamptons puppy whose owners have gone home safely

Teddy Henn from Lost Dog Search & Rescue had been searching for Stanley, who was just six months old, since Monday.

“He’s just a puppy,” said Charmaine DeRosa, who works with Henn.

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

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

Stanley disappeared Monday from Stephen Hands Path and Hands Creek in East Hampton. Pierce said her family splits their time between East Hampton and the United Kingdom; she is looking after Stanley until the dogs are sent overseas next week.

“My boyfriend and I drove here – and we were only five minutes from the house,” she said.

Her family has two other dogs that were in the car. “The windows were halfway down and Stanley is small, so he either fell or jumped out of the car,” she said.

They stopped the car, but Stanley, who Pierce said was “frightened,” started running. “Maybe he was playing a game, because he ran, then sat down and waited until we caught up, then ran again.”

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

According to Henn’s post, his organization has put up 200 fliers. “The sightings have been coming from Stephen Hands Creek Road, all the way to the Cedar Street cemetery, miles away, and then back again to Stephen Hands Creek and Dongan Way,” the post said.

Stanley, the group said, “avoided two set traps by walking within 15 metres of them. He did not even look at them, as if he could not see or smell the food. On at least four occasions he appeared on a very busy road; Teddy had to run around him and stop oncoming traffic driving at high speed – just to get him off the road.”

Good Samaritans also helped push him off the busy road, the Lost Dog Search & Rescue Group said. “We left at 1:30 this morning and Stanley showed up at his door at 5:30, scratching – he was only at the door three times – unharmed!”

Henn’s group thanked the East Hampton Animal Control Department for updating the sightings, residents who allowed them to set up traps and cameras on their properties, and “the wonderful East Hampton community who helped.”

Pierce said she was relieved to see the puppy scratching at the door. Since coming home from 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 their support. “It’s really nice to know that so many people were caring and looking out for him. It gave us hope that we would find him.”