Jumping and Licking Enthusiast Loose on the Major Deegan

If you were lucky enough to catch the news coverage last night, you would have been treated to harrowing live footage of a dog evading cops and drivers on the Major Deegan. We saw him get clipped by a car, but for a while there, it was hilarious. Newscasts took several minutes out of their schedule to follow the breaking news, which was better than O.J., in my opinion.

The Times picks up the story:

A runaway poodle named Snoopy found fame yesterday afternoon when he was spotted negotiating traffic on the Major Deegan Expressway near Yankee Stadium.

Helicopter news cameras beamed nail-biting images of Snoopy dodging cars and police officers approaching him. One officer braved a retaliatory nip, scooped him up and stuffed him into a squad car.

You might be wondering whose dog this was; the Times tracked him down:

Officials refused to turn the dog over to Ken Baez, a truck driver, who showed up to claim the 6-year-old mixed poodle. Mr. Baez said that his mother-in-law, Altagracia Santana, is in the Dominican Republic and that he and his wife, Elosia, had been caring for Snoopy when he escaped.

He had watched Snoopy’s adventures unfold on television. “We were looking all day and we went to take a rest,” Mr. Baez said. “That’s when we saw him on TV.”

Workers at the [American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Manhattan, where the dog was taken] said they were concerned that, his ordeal notwithstanding, the mixed-breed poodle appeared unkempt. and they wanted to make sure he was receiving proper care. Gail Buchwald, a vice president, said Snoopy was given a mild sedative.

. . .

The Baezes said they had been trying to find Snoopy since 2:30 p.m., when he bolted from their apartment at 150th Street and Macomb Avenue, where he had been staying while his owner was away.

Somehow, Snoopy made his way from there to the Major Deegan, where he was finally grabbed at 5:55 p.m.

Mr. Baez’s nephew, Jose, 15, said Snoopy, whom he described as an enthusiast of jumping and licking, didn’t know any tricks, at least until he developed his escape routine.

He added: “I was going crazy because the dog was on the highway. They were like, he was neglected, but he wasn’t. Everybody knows that dog.”