BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

PHOTO COURTESY OF DIANA MEGGITT Katie Meirs (l) and her sister Julie Meirs, of Upper Freehold, reunite with the three pups that escaped the family farm last week, but were soon recovered in Pennsylvania. UPPER FREEHOLD - Three little dogs went on one big adventure last week.

After escaping from their enclosure on March 18, the animals wound up as far afield as Pennsylvania. However, thanks to the concerted efforts of their frantic family that generated Internet and local newspaper notices, the wayward pups are now safely home in Cream Ridge.

The dogs, all females, are between the ages of 9 months and 2 years. They belong to the Meirs family, which owns the Concorde Stud Farm on Harvey Road.

Fina, a miniature schnauzer, belongs to 25-year-old Julie Meirs, who no longer lives on the farm. She had just left her dog with her family for the weekend.

The other family dogs, Justina, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, and Abby, a tiny Yorkshire terrier, ran off with Fina when a worker accidentally left the gate to their run open, according to Robin Meirs, the mother of four daughters.

The dogs had never gotten loose before and did not have collars on, she said. However, according to Meirs, Justina had a microchip implant for identification.

When the dogs did not return, the family posted fliers around the neighborhood offering a large reward for their return. With friends, the girls started canvassing the entire area in search of the animals.

"We were concerned right away," Meirs said. "There was no sign of them."

In addition to using hundreds of fliers, the family contacted animal control and many shelters in the region, as well as local veterinary offices, according to Meirs.

From what the Meirses have pieced together from the information they have about their dogs' travels, a young couple picked up the pups on Harvey Road the day they got loose. The couple then took the animals to Ewing.

At that point, Meirs said, the girl who found the dogs apparently gave them away to friends.

"Thankfully, [the girl] mentioned [the dogs] to a woman at Petsmart in Franklin Mills, Pa., who had heard about [the missing dogs] because she is involved in rescue," Meirs said.

Meirs said her family had a difficult afternoon and evening waiting to see if all the dogs would be returned to them.

On March 23, the Meirses' prayers were answered, and all of their dogs came home safe and sound.

The Meirs family split the reward money between the girl who found the dogs and the Happy Tails Shelter in Trenton, where the Petsmart employee volunteers.

Meirs said it was difficult to coordinate all of the rescue efforts.

"All of the shelters and rescues need one database instead of a hundred different ones in New Jersey alone," she said. "Steps are repeated many times over."

While the story has a happy ending, Meirs said it is important for people who find dogs to try to locate their owners. She said someone who finds a dog should contact the local animal control officer or the local police department.

Meirs said her family is grateful for all the concern and help people showed during their ordeal.

As for the dogs, they seem none the worse for wear, though Katie Meirs, 17, said little Abby no longer leaves her side.