Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Dog found wandering on freeway ramp reunited with owners

Rescued Freeway Dog

Nevada Highway Patrol

This 16-year-old dog named Sinda was reunited with her owner Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020, after Nevada Highway Patrol troopers found her wandering a freeway ramp the previous day.

Updated Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020 | 5:28 p.m.

Elise Halamicek panicked when she noticed her dog, Sinda, was missing. The small dog is deaf and never leaves the yard.

But Halamicek realized the garage door wasn’t shut tight enough.

“I told my husband I’ll nail that door shut if I have to,” Halamicek said today after being reunited with Sinda.

The frightened dog rescued Wednesday by Nevada Highway Patrol troopers as she wandered a Las Vegas freeway ramp has been reunited with her owners. The 16-year-old pet was spotted by troopers near U.S. 95 and Valley View Boulevard on Wednesday evening, the patrol said.

She was taken to the Las Vegas Animal Foundation, and a trooper posted the dog’s picture on social media forums in search of the owners.

It worked, and they were reunited today. The patrol posted a short video of the moment on Twitter.

“Hi baby,” Halamicek says as she hugged the dog. “Let’s go home.”

It capped an eventful 24 hours, which saw Halamicek and her husband, Jeff, searching their neighborhood with a flashlight.

They also reached out to Kelly Henderson, a friend who rescues dogs. Henderson saw the post about the patrol finding a small, scared dog that they were dropping off with the Animal Foundation.

“The real heroes are the highway patrol officer and the lost-and-found Facebook group,” Henderson said.

Jeff Halamicek said he loves his dog so much that he cooks it gourmet meals as if feeding a person. Halamicek broke down into tears when he saw the post saying Sinda was found.

“Hats off to them in blue. They did not have to do that,” Elise Halamicek said.

Kelsey Pizzi, communications coordinator for the Animal Foundation, said troopers dropped Sinda off at the rescue after hours.

“We are so happy she is home. This is what we are always hoping at the end of the day. For animals to be reunited with their families,” Pizzi said.

Pizzi said lost pets have a better chance of getting back home if they are microchipped with updated contact information. Pet owners can chip their pets for $25 at the Animal Foundation