Colton Murray was working at his desk when a commotion outside his window caught his attention.
“I see a tiny dog running across the tarmac, and probably about three or four people chasing him,” said Murray, a mortgage loan officer whose workplace is at the Naples Airport in Florida, though he is not affiliated with the airport. “Then I see more people coming, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is hilarious, I’ve got to video this.’”
He took out his phone and started filming. About 12 airport workers joined the chase.
“Five golf carts came from every angle, a pickup truck and an SUV as well,” Murray said. “It was quite the scene for this little dog.”
Airport workers eventually caught the 16-pound pup. They initially thought he belonged to a passenger, Murray said, but later learned he was a stray and had gotten through a fence near the tarmac. They took him to Collier County Domestic Animal Services, where he was placed on a 48-hour stray hold.
Once he knew the dog was safe, Murray shared the video on social media, and it got picked up by the account Only in Naples 239 and soon it had more than 300,000 views.
Sign up for The Optimist newsletter
Get inspiring stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday.
Yvonne Worrel, who lives in Naples, was scrolling on Facebook the following morning, Sept. 12, when the video caught her eye.
“It made me laugh,” Worrel said.
Her Morkiepoo (a mix of Maltese, Yorkshire terrier and poodle), Cash, died just over a month ago.
“He was the sweetest thing,” Worrel said, adding that she got Cash during the pandemic, after she lost her job and was struggling with her mental health. “He became my emotional support animal.”
She said she was yearning for the companionship of another dog.
“My house is cold and quiet during the day,” Worrel said.
She asked her husband, Cameron Worrel, to go with her to visit Collier County Domestic Animal Services, their local shelter, that morning. She had no idea the dog from the video would be there.
“I just assumed it was somebody’s dog in a crate that got loose,” she said.
The couple looked around at the adoptable dogs, and none seemed like a good fit. Then Worrel spotted one dog she immediately felt drawn to.
“There was no information about him, not even a name,” she said. “He just stared at us and his tail was wagging.”
Worrel asked shelter staff if he was available and they told her she’d have to wait another day as he was on a stray hold. They mentioned he was found running around at the airport. Worrel connected the dots, she said, and was floored.
“I just thought, ‘How ironically cool is that?’” Worrel said, noting that the dog is a mixed breed and believed to be about 4 years old.
The following day, Worrel and her husband went back to the shelter once the stray hold was over. They played with the dog, and it confirmed their desire to bring him home.
“He was rolling over and letting us give him belly rubs and giving tons of kisses,” Worrel said.
They adopted him that day, and named him Jet.
“My husband was like, ‘He was found on an airport tarmac. What else would you name him?’” Worrel said.
Murray, who felt somewhat invested in the dog after filming his airport caper, had called the shelter earlier to check on the dog, he said. He paid for Jet’s $25 adoption fee.
“I just wanted him to be adopted,” he said. “It’s a really great outcome.”
The Worrels brought Jet home on Sept. 14, after he was neutered. Although Jet had run wildly in the video, Worrel described his personality as “very chill.”
“It’s so funny how his demeanor is completely the opposite,” she said. “If there were a bunch of people and machines running after me, I’d be running, too.”
Worrel said Jet is highly affectionate and follows her everywhere.
“I still can’t believe it. He’s just the perfect dog,” she said. “He’s already my shadow.”
Within days of bringing Jet home, Worrel said, she felt mentally lighter.
“We just love him to pieces,” Worrel said.
The post A stray dog prompted a wild airport chase. Days later, he was adopted. appeared first on Washington Post.
