Bradenton woman reunited with lost dog thanks to New Jersey teen

Iwona Kowalczyk smiled at her dog, Jake, as he nestled beside her on a couch in her GreyHawk Landing home. It was Friday evening and the Jack Russell/chihuahua mix dozed off soon after Kowalczyk began to gently scratch his left ear.

“Look at him!” she squealed.

It was a tender moment between Jake and his owner, but it was also meaningful because it would not have been possible were it not for another woman who found a lost Jake and helped reunite him with Kowalczyk. Taylor Snee of New Jersey handed Jake over to Kowalczyk last Wednesday after taking him in Sunday.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Kowalczyk. “I was so excited and so relieved. ... I was just relieved.”

On May 20, Kowalczyk and her husband, Jerry Kowalczyk, were on the second day of a road trip to Connecticut for their daughter’s college graduation when they decided to stop at the Woodrow Wilson Service area off the New Jersey Turnpike. Kowalczyk left her husband and Jake in the car to use the restroom.

“My husband decided to walk him when I left for the restroom,” the 52-year-old recalled. “And he got him (Jake) in his hand and he wiggled and ran toward the building where I was in the ladies’ room.”

Jake ran around the building and disappeared. The Kowalczyks then began a frantic search for him, driving slowly along the shoulder of the New Jersey Turnpike against traffic with emergency lights on and walking for a few miles. They eventually had to continue toward their destination because they couldn’t miss their daughter’s graduation, but posted about lost Jake on social media.

“I felt awful,” Kowalczyk said. “You’re thinking, where he sleeps, is he cold? Is he fed? Did he drink? That was the worst thing. When I’m eating, I’m thinking ‘Is he hungry?’”

Snee, 19, was leaving a friend’s house last Sunday morning after dog sitting when she looked in her rearview mirror.

“I saw this little rat-looking thing,” the veterinary technician said. “It looked like a wild animal.”

Realizing it was a dog after seeing his leash, Snee reversed and walked toward Jack, who at that point had hidden under a shed.

“I looked underneath the shed and I just saw these two little beady eyes shaking back and forth,” she said. “I could see that it was a small dog but he was completely covered in dirt.”

It took two hours — and some beef jerky — for Snee to gain Jake’s trust. After pulling him out from underneath the shed, she took Jake in her arms and brought him home, where she bathed and fed him. On Jake’s tag was “Manatee County Florida” with a license number. Snee had to wait until Monday to contact Manatee County Animal Services and was given Kowalczyk’s email. From there, it was history, Snee said.

“Are you missing a dog that’s small, miniature fox terrier looking, named Jake? If this is your dog he is in good hands staying at my house until I could find who he belongs to!” Snee’s email to Kowalczyk read. “Please contact me if this is your pet!”

A few emails later and Kowalczyk and her husband found themselves on Snee’s driveway to pick up Jake. An online video by NJ Advance Media, which first reported the story, shows the emotional reunion.

“I could not even imagine what it would be like for my dog to be out somewhere where I don’t know if he’s safe, if he has shelter,” Snee said. “A million things were going through my mind when I held Jake.”

This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Bradenton woman reunited with lost dog thanks to New Jersey teen."