When NYPD officers Melissa Mezzoiuso and George Morina-Blocker responded to a 911 call Monday morning about a “vicious” dog on Grand Central Parkway during rush hour, what they found was a brindle Pit Bull sitting in the middle of a westbound lane on the busy thoroughfare.
Morina-Blocker blocked traffic with their patrol car, and Mezzoiuso got out and approached the dog.
She realized he “was not ‘vicious’ but rather frightened and injured,” the NYPD News reports.
Mezzoiuso gently lifted the dog and carried him to the side of the busy parkway, then she and her partner decided to drive the 6-month-old pup, who they named “Rocky,” to a local ASPCA office.
Rocky was then transferred to the ASPCA hospital in Manhattan, where veterinarians determined his left front leg had been broken.
Morina-Blocker and Mezzoiuso stopped by for a visit yesterday, before the lucky pooch had surgery on his leg. Rocky “will continue to receive around-the-clock care as he recovers from his injury,” an ASPCA spokeswoman told the Queens Courier.
According to the New York Daily News today, Rocky has been renamed Huxley to avoid confusion with another dog in the hospital who has the same name. He is recovering from his surgery.
The ASPCA is trying to locate his owner, and asking anyone with information about Rocky to call 212-876-7700. In the meantime, adoption offers are flowing in.
“We urge anyone with information about Rocky to please come forward,” the ASPCA spokeswoman said. “Thank you to the officers of the 110th Precinct who rescued a dog in need and brought him to safety at the ASPCA.”