Dog missing for more than five months found by firefighters on Randall’s Island

The Whippet named Burt went missing from its owner in August in Morningside Heights. Firefighters have spotted it over the last three weeks near their training facility and were able to rescue it Tuesday.

BY THOMAS TRACY

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Tuesday, January 27, 2015, 1:58 PM

Updated: Tuesday, January 27, 2015, 3:58 PM

FDNY Lt. David Kelly with Burt, a Whippet puppy who has been lost in New York City for the past five months.

His dog days of wandering the city are over.

A 1-year-old Whippet puppy reported missing more than five months ago was found safe at the FDNY training complex on Randall’s Island during the height of the snowstorm, officials said Tuesday.

The tiger-striped dog named Burt, who looks like a greyhound, was reported missing by his owner in Morningside Heights last August.

Somehow, the speedy animal managed to get onto Randall’s Island — which is across town and a jump over the East River — where FDNY Lt. David Kelly began spotting him a month ago.

“I would see him rummaging through the garbage cans,” said the lieutenant, an avid dog lover and proud owner of two rescued pups. “I would bring some dog food home and feed it, but every time I got close it would run away.”

Kelly, who worked security at the FDNY Fire Academy, nicknamed the dog “the Rock,” which is also the FDNY’s nickname for Randall’s Island.

But he feared that the Rock couldn’t withstand the coming snowstorm, so he hatched a plan to safely capture the animal.

Burt, a Whippet puppy, was rescued by firefighters Tuesday on Randall’s Island after being missing for more than five months.

“He was kind of bony,” Kelly said about the dog. “He was really skinny.”

Grabbing a dog cage from his home, he put the food inside and connected the cage door to a rope.

During the course of the night, as snow pelted the city, Burt went in the cage to nibble, but ran away before Kelly could spring his trap.

When he came back for second nosh at about 2 a.m., he closed the door behind Burt, catching him inside.

Kelly had a suspicion that the Rock was actually Burt, the Whippet that disappeared in August and was the subject of the Facebook page “Bring Burt Home.”

The smoke eater reached out to owner Lauren Piccolo to share his suspicions, but he wasn’t completely sure until he brought the dog home at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Burt, a whippet puppy, has been lost in New York City for the past five months and was recently spotted on Randall's Island during the snow storm.

“I was with the dog for most of the day and he was still scared of me, but as soon as he saw his owner, he was wagging his tail and licking her.”

“She asked me if there was anything she could give me (for finding her dog) but I just said ‘Do a good deed and pass it on.’”

Piccolo was overjoyed that Burt had returned home.

“After five months, and of course in the middle of a mega snow storm, I get a call from a really nice fireman who has seen a whippet, nightly for 2 to 3 weeks, near the FDNY training facility on Randall’s Island,” she wrote on her Facebook page.

“The fireman has been feeding this dog, but only from a distance because if he gets to (sic) close the dog runs - really fast. Sound like my guy? Yup.”

“I can’t believe you are still out there, Burt!!!!!!!!!!” she wrote.

Calls to Piccolo were not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon.

ttracy@nydailynews.com