It was a cold, rainy afternoon when N.Y.P.D ᴏꜰꜰɪᴄᴇʀ Michael Pascale first met Joey. He was driving his sǫᴜᴀᴅ car through a public park when he spotted a small black dog ʜᴜᴅᴅʟᴇᴅ among the used ɴᴇᴇᴅʟᴇs and ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ ʙᴇᴇʀ ʙᴏᴛᴛʟᴇs.
The dog was being held to a fence by a ʜᴇᴀᴠʏ ᴄʜᴀɪɴ around his neck, which ᴏꜰꜰɪᴄᴇʀ Pascale saw. Joey was damp, shivering, and obviously ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ. Upon closer inspection, ᴏꜰꜰɪᴄᴇʀ Pascale saw that the dog had a thick ᴄʜᴀɪɴ around his ɴᴇᴄᴋ ᴛᴇᴛʜᴇʀɪɴɢ him to a fence. Joey was soaking wet, shivering, and clearly ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ. Pascale said: “He’s just looking up at me with these ‘Help Me’ eyes,”. The first thing that sprang to me was, “I needed to get him out of here.”
Joey was brought to the Animal Care Centers of N.Y.C shelter in Brooklyn by the animal-loving ᴏꜰꜰɪᴄᴇʀ. He felt a particular connection growing between them as he dried the grateful dog with a towel. I don’t see an animal, Pascale declared. “I can see a sᴏᴜʟ. And I don’t avoid that either. He used SMS to send his wife a photo of the ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ pet. Bring him home, she immediately commanded. The couple quickly agreed to adopt Joey if they could just overcome one tiny obstacle. In Just 72 hours, it feels like a lifetime.
ᴏꜰꜰɪᴄᴇʀ Pascale was instructed by the ACC that Joey would need to remain in their ᴄᴜsᴛᴏᴅʏ for the necessary 72-hour stray hold. No matter how ɴᴇɢʟᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ or ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ an animal looks to be, it can actually have a ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ owner yearning for them. A stray hold gives them some time to find and report their sᴛᴏʟᴇɴ ᴏʀ ᴍɪssɪɴɢ pet. ᴏꜰꜰɪᴄᴇʀ Pascale promised to return after the two exchanged a tearful farewell. He maintained his promise and returned the next day and the day after that. They grew more intimate with each encounter. Pascale was eventually able to adopt Joey once the stray hold was finally lifted. Once the paperwork was finished, Joey was taken outside to say goodbye to Pascale.
ᴏꜰꜰɪᴄᴇʀ Pascale promised to protect him and make sure that he never again experiences ᴀʙᴜsᴇ or ɴᴇɢʟᴇᴄᴛ as the joyful dog showered him with kisses. They then returned home to start their new life together. Where there was once a famished, afraid stray, there is now a powerful, loving pet. Joey likes showing his dad about New York City and spending time on the couch with his mother. ᴏꜰꜰɪᴄᴇʀ Pascale notes that he’s developed into quite the mama’s boy. Joey is a wonderful dog, but he isn’t perfect. Although he occasionally gets into the trash and still dislikes being outside in the rain, mostly he is content. And there are others like him.
