Earlier this month, a dog went on a possibly magical, but more likely harrowing, journey from the Upper West Side all the way to Long Island City. During her journey, she was spotted darting between cars inside the Queens-Midtown Tunnel during rush hour, and was finally rescued about a week after going missing. Today, the MTA honored that brave dummy, as well as the officers who helped ensure she wasn't run over by a car and was brought home safe.
Indie, a rescue pup from Kolkata, India who was only adopted three months ago, ran away from a dog walker near Amsterdam Avenue and West 78th Street on June 8th. Before she even realized she was gone, owner Heather Angus said that people were already posting about seeing a dog running around the streets of the UWS on Nextdoor. One person wrote they saw a dog “running at speeds never before seen” while evading people and vehicles.
Somehow, Indie ended up making her way to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, where she was captured on surveillance camera—see the video below, which has a title that already sounds like it could be the next hot indie movie ("Indie The Dog Makes Her Way Through The Queens Midtown Tunnel").
Sgt. Orlando Caholo ordered oncoming traffic be stopped briefly to prevent the possibility of an accident, but officers were unable to get her before she got to the other side.
After that, Officer Heather Minutello, who had witnessed the incident, got in touch with Angus to let her know what was happening. “I'm so glad she wasn't hurt in the process. I'm so glad she was found. So cute," Minutello said today, very accurately.
Other people spotted the dog running through Hunters Point after that and posted about it online; Angus put flyers up in the neighborhood, and eventually, a worker contacted her to let her know the dog was hanging out inside a 30th Place warehouse which was already filled with stray cats (and thus, had water and some food available).
“She came home and ran circles around the apartment and found her favorite tennis balls,” Angus told the NY Post last week. “This story is a miracle, but it was only possible because of all the angels involved … I’ve lived in the city for 11 years and it never ceases to amaze me.”
At a press conference outside the Queens-Midtown Tunnel on Tuesday morning, the MTA honored the officers who helped in the rescue, including Minutello and Caholo.
“Thank you for having Indie and I here today to thank these amazing officers," Angus said at that presser. “I'm forever grateful for your speedy action to shut down the tunnel and for calling and that life-saving tip. I thought we may be here to pay Indie's toll because she was not wearing an E-ZPass that day.”
