Family Continues Search Around Hoboken, Jersey City For Lost Dog

HOBOKEN, NJ — A Jersey City family is still looking around Hoboken, Jersey City, and other towns for the dog they were fostering for months — who slipped away shortly after they decided to keep her permanently.

[RELATED: A Jersey City man is looking for his lost dog whom he says he left with a pet sitter this weekend; see his post from yesterday here.]

The Honis family had been fostering dogs from Puerto Rico through the pandemic and recently decided they couldn't part with one of their pooches.

But while the family was walking her in May, the leash loosened and the dog ran off. They've been posting signs all over Hudson County ever since, particularly in Hoboken and Jersey City.

"Our posters are taken off by the authorities," Andrea Honis said this week. "They even threatened us with a fine now. We try everything. Our only hope if more people know about her missing and when they see her they call us. She is roaming around for six weeks!"

Andrea said she has been working with Buddha Dog Rescue and Recovery. Experienced rescuers told the family not to publicize the dog's name, so that people don't scare her by calling. But the Honis family desperately wants her home.

Because the dog was a rescue, she was traumatized and has a hard time trusting people, she said.

There have been occasional sightings, Honis said. Last month, someone spotted her in the arms of two young women who claimed they found her behind a BJ's Wholesale store. The dog leaped out of the girls' arms and ran off, last seen by the Garfield Avenue Light Rail Station.

"The best way anybody can help is individual search walks, if you feel so inclined, with special attention to potential hiding spots," Honis said. "In the case that you were to see her and she lets you touch and hold her, please do that, because she is friendly, she does not bite. She's only very skittish and timid. She has a collar around her neck with her name and phone number on it. Please call that number, immediately! But under no circumstances, please do NOT chase her. If you see her on the move from a distance, please call 917-496-6166."

She added, "This has become a probability game, being at the right place at the right time, that [we] can't do alone without the help of our community."

Patch Jersey City Editor Samantha Mercado contributed to this report.

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