Back in May of 2022, a scared Akita German Shepard puppy named Bailey ran out of his yard in Red Hook, Brooklyn, along with his littermates. In total, there were three missing, but it wasn’t long before the other two dogs returned home; however, Bailey never came back.

Harriet Zucker, the founder of Red Hook Dog Rescue, contacted me asking for help. All we knew was that the owner of the dogs wasn’t interested in taking Bailey back, as he claimed that Bailey was too skittish and didn’t fit in with the rest of the pack. Harriet found out that Bailey was afraid of people and that he was also nervous around his canine mother, who was overly aggressive with one of the other pups, which placed him in a perpetual state of unease..

Harriet and I covered the neighborhood in missing dog posters and set up a couple of feeding stations, but the scared puppy was nowhere to be seen. Days later, Bailey was spotted swimming around in circles, attempting to cross the East River. He seemed to be struggling to stay afloat, which concerned Tom Gilman Chevchik, a bystander, who eventually used a paddleboard to try and reach him. It took him forty-five minutes, but he was eventually able to guide Bailey back to shore. The poor dog was so tired he could barely stand, but still, he wouldn’t allow anyone to come near him. Tom watched as Bailey slithered under the docks and disappeared into the dark.

Harriet and I went back out and set up more feeding stations, along with cameras, but nothing came of it. The following day, Harriet received a call stating that Bailey had been seen standing under the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, staring out at the traffic. Then came the footage circulating throughout social media of a terrified dog running for his life through the Battery Tunnel. It was Bailey! Harriet called me to share the news, and we both planned to move the posters and feeding stations to Manhattan. But it didn’t take long for Bailey to run across state lines to New Jersey after having bolted through the Holland Tunnel. Thankfully, due to his injured foot, he hid in a parking garage underneath Home Depot in Jersey City, where Animal Control were able to contain him. He was then immediately taken to VERG.

After a serious foot injury from walking on the jagged rocks and a long stay at the vet for an operation, he was eventually transferred to Connecticut to be rehabilitated over the next couple of years.

Since then, I would always refer to Bailey as The Two-Tunnel Dog. Naturally, when we were thinking of names for our new non-profit, we were searching for something that exemplified both the urban setting and the challenges that go into a skittish dog rescue. The story of Bailey came to mind, as he became a sort of ‘poster pup’ for animals in survival mode. His story is a perfect example of the lengths a scared dog is willing to go to to get away from a perceived threat. But Bailey’s story also gives us hope. When the odds were against him, people stepped in to help where they could, and at the same time, respected the space he needed to calm down. This story most likely wouldn’t have even occurred if that kind man hadn’t rushed out on his paddleboard. We are honored to feature Bailey as the dog on our logo, reminding us to never give up and to always look for the light at the end of the Holland Tunnel.

Bailey has made some incredible progress over the years, thanks to Evee Linden, a trainer in Connecticut, who worked to rehabilitate him. He has since learned how to play with other dogs, and is beginning to trust people.