Throggs Neck’s beleaguered beagle is safe. Carol Kreidemaker, a friend to stray pets, helped snare the dog January 9.
“Chucky” is adjusting well to life indoors, playing with Kreidemaker’s three dogs and six cats. Likely abandoned, he survived three months in the cold.
“He’s terrific,” said Kreidemaker. “He’s going to be someone’s loyal, happy friend.”
Kreidemaker spent weeks on Chucky’s trail. But the frightened stray kept his distance. Pounded by blizzards, Chucky visited Kreidemaker’s yard on Sunday, December 20. When the pooch escaped, Kreidemaker appealed to her neighbors for help. Phone calls and “Chucky sightings” poured in.
“Throggs Neck always comes through,” Kreidemaker said. “He’s inside. He’s warm. His ordeal is over, and I’m thrilled.”
Kreidemaker won’t keep the dog. Her house is full. Once Chucky receives a clean bill of health, Kreidemaker will pass him along. She has an owner in mind.
“We’re looking for a patient, loving person,” Kreidemaker said.
Kreidemaker’s neighbor requested a dog trap from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. On the evening of January 9, Chucky went for the bait. Kreidemaker rushed outside to greet him.
“He came to me,” she said. “He trusted me.”
For weeks, Chucky slept behind the Throggs Neck Houses, where Ferry Point Park construction workers fed him and built him a bed of hay. He loped through the neighborhood eating cat food.
“When I got him, he slept for two days,” Kreidemaker said. “Now he hates going outside.”
Chucky, a black, brown and white beagle mix, is gentle with Kreidemaker’s kittens and chummy with other dogs.
“He and my golden retriever bonded right away,” she said.
Chucky isn’t neutered. He’s young and fit, according to Kreidemaker.
The ASPCA will check to see if Chucky carries a microchip. If he does, it might be possible for Kreidemaker to locate the dog’s former owner.
Skittish on his Throggs Neck ramblings, Chucky is a social dog after all. He bays when left alone and likes to sleep with the television on.
“Obviously, he’s a survivor,” Kreidemaker said. “So many people in the neighborhood fell in love with this little guy.”
