The dog was found near an abandoned trailer.

The dog was found near an abandoned trailer.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The New Castle firefighters' mascot, a 5-year-old Dalmatian, has returned to the fire station after a journey of more than 30 miles.
Assistant Fire Chief Joe Bongivengo found the dog, Jake, outside an abandoned trailer near Harrisville, Butler County, on Friday night.
Firefighters put the word out earlier that day that the dog had been missing since March 7. They suspect that Jake, who is able to open the front door on his own, hopped into someone's car that night when the firefighters were out on a fire call.
Bongivengo said they got a call Friday from someone who said he saw the dog near Harrisville, which is about 17 miles north of Butler. Jake is a traditional-looking Dalmatian but has an unusual gait because of an injury.
Another firefighter went looking for the dog, but Jake wouldn't come near him, Bongivengo said. So they called Bongivengo, who Jake appears to be most attached to when in the fire station, about 9 p.m. Friday.
What got a response
"I spent an hour looking for him up there. I've never been to Harrisville," Bongivengo said. "I just heard this dog barking and started up this road."
He didn't expect it to be Jake when he spotted a dog near an abandoned trailer. Bongivengo said he was calling Jake's name, but each time he got near the dog, it ran to the other side of the trailer.
"Then I said, 'Hey, buddy.' I'm the only one who calls him buddy, and he just came running at me like gangbusters," Bongivengo said.
Jake had swollen paws and had lost a little weight but appeared to be fine, Bongivengo said. The dog took a long nap in the car on the drive home, he said.
Back home in the station, Jake was given a bath and returned to the regimen of antibiotics and other medicines he takes for health problems.
Bongivengo said he's since bought the dog a 20- foot chain for outside the fire station, and the firefighters are looking into securing the door more tightly so Jake can't go out on his own.
Since his return, Jake has been bombarded with well-wishers bearing dog treats, Bongivengo said.
cioffi@vindy.com