Truck driver Alan Nelson of Colorado is used to making long hauls, but not without his best friend riding shotgun, a 23-pound reddish-colored Shiba inu named Sato. Nelson and Sato were reunited last Friday afternoon, after their separation became a news story and galvanized volunteers to search for the dog who ran off from a lower Hudson Valley rest stop.
On January 2, Nelson was stopped at a rest area off westbound I-84, about 70 miles north of New York City, on his way to a delivery in Atlanta. That's when Sato slipped out of his leash and ran off. The distraught owner called his dispatcher and said that he had to go looking for his dog, but the dispatcher told him he could get a new dog after delivering a shipment of frozen bread to Atlanta or he could get a new job. Reluctantly, Nelson drove off without his canine co-pilot.
News quickly spread of the lost dog and $500 was offered for Sato's return. Reports of sightings soon started coming in from neighboring towns. Volunteer Michele Dugan was posting flyers publicizing Sato's disappearance last Monday and, by Friday, she received a call: Sato had been sighted back at the rest stop. She and another volunteer found Sato (spending two hours enticing him with dog treats) and Rob Morrison of Mahopac managed to get a leash on the dog.
Nelson said of the 2-year-old dog, who has been trucking with Nelson since he was an 8-week-old puppy, "When he walks, he just gets his little feet going so fast."
Alan Nelson and Sato, by Stuart Bayer/The Journal News
