BH Mocha dog
Ryan Muentnich of Phillipsburg spotted Mocha caught on a guardrail of Route 78 west. He backed his truck up and, after offering him some dog treats and waiting patiently, was able to find the owners by looking at the tag.
BERKELEY HEIGHTS — The search for Mocha is over and he's home with his family in Berkeley Heights. But it took three weeks of searching, the help of dozens, perhaps thousands, of people and one very good Samaritan to make this tale have a happy ending.
Susan Rollet, her husband Stephane and children Luc and Emilie, were leaving on a skiing vacation on Dec. 21, so they dropped Mocha, a border collie, off on Dec. 20 at the “Farm” in Pattenburg, a boarding facility at Exit 11 of Route 78 west. That evening, the handler walking him slipped on the ice and Mocha bolted, jumped a 4-foot fence and was gone.
The Rollets canceled their vacation plans immediately and began a three-week hunt for Mocha. During those three weeks, the area endured a blizzard, ice storm and the numbing cold of the polar vortex. Still, they continued to search and reach out through Facebook and other groups.
Susan's first move was to post a lost dog note on her personal Facebook page. "My friend Lillian Skarregaard put me in contact with Home for Good Dog Rescue" headquartered in Berkeley Heights, she said.
Gail Ryan, with Home for Good Dog, told her about "Lost and Found Pets of New Jersey," another Facebook page. A notice on that page got almost 2,000 shares, then CART, the Hunterdon County Animal Response Team, put up the notice and "I got another 1,500 shares and more than 200 comments," said Rollet.
"The two women from CART and Lillian, Gail and friends from here and people up there I didn’t even know went out. They hung posters, searched the woods, put things on their Facebook pages, fliers in mailboxes,” and more.
Rollet also started getting phone calls from people who had spotted Mocha. “I cannot tell you how many phone calls we’ve had,” she said on Monday.
There was something new to learn every day, she said. People offered suggestions on where to look, what to do, “bring clothes with you so he can smell your smell,” where to put notices, where to find humane traps, that sort of thing.
On Friday evening, Jan.10, Mocha was found.
Ryan Muentnich of Phillipsburg had been driving along Route 78 west near Exit 7 and “noticed a dog caught on the guardrail. Ryan stopped his truck, backed up and proceeded to sit on the ground waiting for Mocha to calm down enough for him to free him and read his tag,” she said. He even had dog snacks with him.
Ironically, he had never seen a flier or notice on Facebook about Mocha. He found the owners the old-fashioned way, by looking at the tag, then he called the Rollets.
Muentnich waited another 45 minutes at a meeting place for them to arrive. “As soon as Mocha saw me he jumped into my arms crying. I jumped into Ryan’s arms crying. It was an unbelievable ending to a long, long, three weeks,” said Rollet.
Despite the terrible weather Mocha came through in good health. “He has a good thick coat of fur. His fur wasn’t matted, he wasn’t cold and he didn’t lose that much weight. It shows how resourceful a determined dog can be.”
Once he got back home, “it was like, OK, I’m back now” and he resumed his usual routine, she said.
“I want everybody up there to know he has been found,” Rollet said. “We are so overjoyed with Mocha’s return. We are also humbled by the concern and time put forth by our friends, the community, area rescue groups, volunteers including Lillian, Gail, Cindy, Michelle, Lois, Kristy, Tina and especially Ryan, Mocha’s angel, who took the time and had the patience and sense to do what needed to be done to get Mocha home.
“Words cannot even express our gratitude to all of you.”