

Codi Wilson, CP24.com





A missing rescue dog who bolted from staff at Pearson Airport on Monday has been reunited with her new family after a woman found the dog “frightened” and “shimmying between two or three lanes” on Airport Road.

The rescue dog, a 15-pound Pomeranian/ Papillon mix named Emily, arrived at the airport from Greece on Monday afternoon with four other dogs from the rescue organization Stray Paws Rescue.

Stray Paws co-founder Tasoula Somers said while paperwork was being processed, the dogs were let out by CBSA staff to relieve themselves in an unfenced parking lot. That is when Emily escaped.

Luckily, a woman who was headed to dinner with her husband at a restaurant on Airport Road at around 7 p.m. spotted Emily and decided to pull over.

“She was wide-eyed and looked quite frightened,” the woman, Catherine Long, told CP24 on Tuesday morning. “I said ‘come here’ and she did. She let me pick her up. It probably took all of 20 seconds.”

After picking up the dog, Long said she took her to Richview Animal Hospital in the hopes that she might have been microchipped. She said that the dog had been microchipped but wasn’t registered yet. As a result, it took vet officials until today to determine that the animal was the one who had been reported missing from the airport.

“It is quite amazing that we have this chip technology and I am gratified that somebody will be adopting her because she is a sweet little dog,” Long said. “She didn’t make a noise. She was really well behaved and she is really quite cuddly, so I think she likes to be held.”

The dog’s new owner, Jimmy Wong, said when his family was informed that the dog had been found on Tuesday morning, they were “overjoyed with tears.”

When they arrived at the vet clinic to meet their new pup, Wong’s son Jordan thanked and hugged Long.

"I think we definitely had our doubts at times but we definitely tried to stay positive most of the time and it worked out in the end. We are really grateful," he said.

After an eight hour wait at the airport and a sleepless night, he said his family is looking forward to finally taking Emily home.

"We have done so many home renovations just for her," he said. "We’re super excited to have her."