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Salem Mannequin has been tirelessly searching for her yellow lab Nyla since the June 7 crash on the Cross Bronx Expressway at White Plains Road, she tells Daily Voice.
She was in a hospital bed at Jacobi Medical Center hours after the accident when she realized, her baby was missing.
Once released, Mannequin began calling shelters and veterinary offices across New York City and Westchester counties. She posted in missing pets groups on Facebook. She scoured Craiglist for any sign of hope.
"I wasn't going to give up until I knew what happened to her," said Mannequin, 28.
But it never occurred to Mannequin that Nyla could be in New Jersey — until this week.
"I went on PetFinder around 2 a.m. Monday, Aug. 5, and I see this dog, " Mannequin recalls.
Her name was Cassidy. And she was at the Bergen County Animal Shelter.
Sources tell Daily Voice that after the crash, Nyla ran six miles from the crash scene to Fort Lee. She was brought into the shelter on June 8.
No one ever came in for her, until this week.
And so, Mannequin sent an email around to the Bergen County Animal Shelter around 2 a.m., and got a response hours later.
"I thought I was just going to get shut down again," Mannequin said. "But they were asking for more information. I knew it could be her, but I didn't want to get my hopes up."
Mannequin sent shelter officials photos and videos of Nyla — a dead ringer for Cassidy.
By 3 p.m., Mannequin was at the BCAS in Teterboro, ready to be reunited with Nyla.
"She sniffed me and at first I didn't think she would remember me," Mannequin said of their initial reunion before Daily Voice got to the scene. "But then she peed on herself and laid on her back on top of me."
Mannequin said people told her to give up the search for Nyla multiple times. But finding her became an obsession.
Mannequin said she rescued the dog from an abusive situation last May. But she says the two bonded fast.
"I didn't expect to get that close to her," Mannequin tells Daily Voice. "I never wanted a big dog. She acts like a person, and I know what she's been through."
As it turns out, Nyla has been at the BCAS since June 8, the day after the crash.
Their tearful reunion was captured on video.
"I'm still in disbelief," Mannequin tells Daily Voice. "She's been here the whole time."
Then, Mannequin got her dog back.
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