By Britney Milazzo
A dog who went missing after a Hartland car crash was found Friday, thanks to the kindness of strangers.
A Gasport family found Buddy, a Catahoula leopard dog, roaming a field behind their house Friday morning.
Area residents had searched high and low for Buddy, after he fled from the scene of a one-car, rollover crash Wednesday morning. Posters went up seeking help in finding the dog.
Buddy’s owner, Gary Gaiser, said he couldn’t be happier at the news.
Locating his pet was definitely a high point for Gaiser, 66, a Corfu resident who is recovering at Erie County Medical Center from injuries suffered in the crash.
Gaiser was on his way to a job in Cambria when his car veered off Ridge Road, hit a utility pole and rolled over.
“Buddy was always by my side and went to work with me every day,” Gaiser said.
Buddy ran away right near a dog kennel whose owner, Elly Hyde, played a big part in the search.
Hyde said she posted photos of Buddy all over town on Wednesday and Thursday, asking anyone with information to come forward to her.
Once the dog was found, Hyde again was instrumental in reuniting him with his owner.
“The family contacted the dog warden in Hartland, and the dog was brought to Fort Hyde Kennels,” Hyde said.
Buddy has a laceration to his leg, and his owners will seek medical attention for him at their local veterinarian in Corfu, Hyde said, but the dog seems to be in pretty good shape otherwise.
“He’s up and walking on (his leg), so it doesn’t look like there are any broken bones,” Hyde said.
This isn’t the first time Buddy has had a close call. The Gaiser family adopted him from a shelter in Batavia after he was rescued from Hurricane Katrina.
Gaiser was taken by mercy flight to Erie County Medical Center the morning of the accident with a broken ankle and several broken ribs and is still hospitalized, but said he’s in a greater spirit since his dog was found.
“The residents of Western New York are certainly one of a kind,” Gaiser said.
Gaiser gives his thanks to everyone who helped find Buddy.
“This is a happy ending in a tragic time,” Hyde said.
Contact reporter Britney Milazzo at 439-9222, ext. 6251.
