Please read this story below about one of my beloved dachshunds and you will understand why I am so obsessive about safety.

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North Attleboro puppy back home after harrowing escapes on area highways and eluding searchers

By David Linton dlinton@thesunchronicle.com

July 27, 2023

ATTLEBORO — It’s a story that reminds Dorothy Haskell of the 1993 movie “Homeward Bound.” In the film, a bulldog pup, a Himalayan cat and a golden retriever go on an adventure in the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada mountains before finally reaching the home of their owners.

Haskell’s 14-month-old dachshund Chelsea had an adventure of her own this week, disappearing for over three days before returning home on Virginia Avenue just after midnight Thursday. Although the movie was a comedy, Haskell, 62, said Chelsea’s disappearance was nerve-wracking. The puppy, who has been in the family for three weeks, escaped her yard through a hole in the fence. Haskell’s neighborhood is about 100 feet through the woods to Interstate 295, and the I-95 interchange, where I-295 ends in Attleboro, is less than a half-mile away. During her escape, Chelsea was spotted on the highways running from well-meaning Good Samaritans, including one man who ran across I-295 and a woman who stopped traffic on I-95. “I am doing better after days of heart-wrenching sobbing and nausea. It was not just learning she was lost but she was on 95,” Haskell said, adding that Chelsea ran across all three lanes of the highway to elude capture during the episode. There was a guardian angel watching over my dog,” Haskell said. In addition to the happy ending, Chelsea’s story has a lot of heroes. They include neighbors, state police troopers, strangers and a volunteer for the non-profit Missing Dogs Massachusetts, who set a humane trap to capture Chelsea in her yard. On Sunday night, Haskell filed a report with Missing Dogs Massachusetts and the following morning Haskell printed up over 200 flyers. She said she stuffed the flyers in mailboxes in North Attleboro and Attleboro and she and her husband Glenn, 65, her daughter Emily, 23, and son Corey, 26, joined neighbors searching woods and the highways. Haskell even contacted her pet’s breeder who came to her house with Chelsea’s mother in hopes the scent would bring Chelsea home. Figuring Chelsea would be attracted by dogs at the nearby North Attleboro Animal Shelter, Haskell said she and Animal Control Officer Felicia Camara placed some of the family’s dirty laundry around the area in the hopes Chelsea would also be attracted by the scent of the clothes. After someone spotted Chelsea in the I-95 median, Haskell said she looked at a map on the internet on Wednesday morning. She said she realized the Ten Mile River ran under the highway and figured Chelsea was in an area north of the river and south of I-295. Haskell said she called state police who sent two troopers to help her search the area.

God was telling me where she was,” Haskell said. “I was just about to give up hope and then one of the troopers said, ‘Oh my God, she’s there in the bushes.’” However, once again Chelsea escaped the grasp of her pursuers and disappeared into the woods. About a half-hour later, a woman driving on the highway spotted Chelsea and stopped traffic, but the dog disappeared. On Wednesday night, the volunteer from Missing Dogs Massachusetts set up a humane trapping cage at Haskell’s home with dog food and the family’s dirty laundry in the hope of attracting Chelsea.  “A lot of it has to do with scent,” Haskell said. The trap worked. About 12:15 a.m. Thursday, Haskell said, Chelsea entered the cage, tripping a motion detection camera and an alarm to the volunteer. After the volunteer called her, Haskell said she went outside, calmed Chelsea down and carried her into her home in the cage. “I Facetimed with her and we both were crying,” Haskell said. Amazingly, Haskell said, Chelsea appeared to be unharmed and healthy despite such a long time away from the comforts of home. “I don’t know how she survived 3½ days without food and had the energy she had to run,” Haskell said. “She’s surprisingly well for all the trauma she went through. She only had one tick, which is just amazing,” Haskell said. The whole ordeal would not have ended happily without the help of all those involved, Haskell said, thanking everyone including state police and Missing Dogs Massachusetts. “We are elated. We are so appreciative of everyone who went out of their way,” Haskell said. “It is such a wonderful community of people who helped search for my dog.” She added, “I had 48 text messages this morning from people who are thrilled and happy she’s back.”