Rockefeller University’s front entrance.

On July 24th, 2021, Michele and Romi were coming off a plane, from Korea, to meet their new parents Dai Wai Chin and Forest. The feeling of being in an unfamiliar environment, especially Manhattan’s Upper West side, was overwhelming. On July 25th, while out for a walk, Michele slipped her collar from Forest and took off. An extremely scary situation. To witness an innocent dog blindly run through lines of traffic. By the time I had gotten involved, Michele was seen running under a gate and down the quiet path of Rockefeller University Campus.  

I met Dai Wai Chin around 8 p.m. By that point there were a couple of sightings and we set up some feeding stations and a trap right around the spot where Michele was last seen. It started to rain. We waited for several hours, calling it a night at around 3 a.m. I had instructed Dai Wai Chin to return early the next morning to check the cameras. Around 9.am. The following morning, he called me. “There’s been a sighting.” Michele was hanging around the garden part of the campus where lots of student traffic was coming in and out. The very first thing we had to do was inform the security officers to block off the area, so as not to spook Michele to run out to the other side of campus.  

We started to have some issues, explaining to the security what we needed from them. They simply did not understand why we could not just walk over to Michele and grab her. Even after we explained how she was in a feral state, this security officer did not want to be told what to do. He gave Dai Wai Chin a certain amount of time to get his dog, or they were going to call Animal Control.   Thankfully, I explained to Forest and Dai Wai Chin what to do. Forest was to sit on the grass, making zero eye contact and she made sure to bring Michele’s sister Romi.

The sighting of Michele.

The moment Forest grabs Michele.

 After a couple of hours doing just what she was told, and about five minutes before Animal Control showed, Forest grabbed Michele and was able to secure a leash on her. They rushed her home, thankful for the successful conclusion with their new set of pups.  

Michele and Romi back home.