2 JUNE 24, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Ridgewood man reunites Manhattan nurse with lost rescue dog
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
A Ridgewood man is responsible
for reuniting a lost dog
with her Upper West Side
owner.
Heather Angus, a nurse from the
Upper West Side who served on the
front lines during the COVID-19
pandemic, is thanking “the angels of
New York City” for the happy homecoming
of Indie, her mixed-breed
rescue dog who broke free from her
dog walker and raced through the
Queens Midtown Tunnel to Long Island
City, where a warehouse worker
provided shelter for nearly week.
“She was very afraid and didn’t
want to be touched,” Jairo Naranjo
said. “My mother and my sister
helped me gather her up and the
owner of the warehouse that I work
at let me use a small space in the
back where she could sleep.”
On June 14, Naranjo went to a
diner near his workplace to get
some food for Indie when he saw a
flyer about the missing pooch and
called the number.
Angus was working at Mount Sinai
Hospital, where she tended to the
sickest patients during the COVID-19
pandemic as a nurse anesthetist. She
phoned a friend, Michael Rapinsky,
of Zani’s Furry Friends ZFF, a nonprofit
organization committed to
rescuing companion animals from
New York City shelters.
Rapinsky raced to the warehouse
at 49-29 30th Pl. and picked up the
puppy a week after she broke free.
Indie, a Basenji and Shiba Inu mix,
was last spotted racing through the
tunnel, slowing traffic, before she
emerged on the Queens side.
“I was in the operating room when
I got the text saying he got her,”
Angus said. “I burst into tears. I adopted
Indie from Michael and when
he got there she was burrowed into
a tiny space. She had some cobwebs
but other than that she was a little
bit dehydrated and had some black
tar on her but ran in circles when I
tried to give her a bath, but I’ll take
care of that later.”
Angus took the day after reunification
and had Indie checked out by
her veterinarian.
“She’s doing fine. When I had her
out this morning people were saying
hello to her. She’s a celebrity,”
Angus said. “I’m throwing a party
in Central Park for all of the people
who called me with tips. I hope Jairo
and his family can make it.”
Naranjo was given a $500 reward
for finding and caring for Indie,
and making the happy reunion
possible.
“I was happy everything worked
out like it did,” Naranjo said. “The
owner was nice to invite us to Central
Park. I hope her dog is doing
fine.”
Heather Angus and her dog Indie were reunited after a Long Island City
warehouse worker from Ridgewood made it possible.
Photo courtesy of Heather Angus
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we have missed.
TO FAMILY
Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc
Health Commissioner
To get the facts about COVID-19 vaccines, visit nyc.gov/covidvaccine.
Visit nyc.gov/vaccinefinder or call 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692)
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