Alisa Burgos was driving off Presque Isle State Park on Tuesday night when she spotted an animal walking on the road toward her car.
Burgos at first thought it was a rabbit, but as she drove closer she realized it was a dog.
"I stopped right away and opened my car door," Burgos said. "The dog started running, so I sweet-talked him a little. He came to me, and I scooped him up and put him in the car."
Burgos had found Waffles, the nine-month-old Corgi that had been the subject of an intense search for the previous 60 hours. The puppy went missing Sunday morning when a bicyclist startled him while going for a walk near the park's Stull Interpretive Center.
Fifteen minutes after Burgos found Waffles, the dog was reunited in a nearby parking lot with his owners, Tom and Megan Hornyak.
"I never thought I would see him alive again," said Tom Hornyak, 38. "We were just looking for some closure by that point. But the fact that he is back in our house with essentially no problems is a miracle."
Waffles' adventure started Sunday morning when one of the Hornyaks' friends took Waffles and the Millcreek Township couple's other Corgi, Butters, for a walk near the Stull center. The unleashed dogs were on a beach path when a winter bicyclist startled them, Tom Hornyak said.
Butters stayed close but Waffles scampered away. A quick search of the area didn't turn up the missing Corgi, so the dog-walker called Megan Hornyak.
"I went down and started looking for him," said Megan Hornyak, 35. "After about 30 minutes, I got worried. I thought he might be out on the ice."
Megan Hornyak called her husband, who was serving that day in the Army Reserves. Tom Hornyak was able to drive to Presque Isle and joined the search until around 5:30 p.m.
As he was driving off the peninsula, he received a call from someone at the beach. Waffles had been spotted, out on the frozen Lake Erie.
"We rushed back and saw him, probably 100 yards or so past the breakwalls," Tom Hornyak said.
"He was pacing around in circles," Megan Hornyak said.
"By then we had posted on Facebook about Waffles and a lot of people had joined the search," Tom Hornyak said. "Waffles started walking back toward us but I think all the voices calling his name spooked him. He ran farther out on the ice."
Park rangers, personnel from U.S. Coast Guard Station Erie and West Lake Volunteer Fire Department crews tried rescuing the dog until it became too dark for them to see anything, Tom Hornyak said.
The Hornyaks reluctantly left the beach.
"I parked near Sara's Campground near the park's gate and went to the beach by the condos," Tom Hornyak said. "I just stood there for about 20 minutes, thinking about Waffles out there alone on the ice."
After an almost sleepless night, the Hornyaks returned to Presque Isle on Monday around sunrise. They were greeted with bone-chilling weather as the temperature was around 10 degrees with a wind chill hovering around zero.
They spent about 12 hours searching with friends and others who learned about Waffles through social media. Some of them brought camera-equipped drones and received permission from park rangers to fly them over the lake to search for the dog.
"We took some of his squeaky toys and a pair of binoculars, but we didn't see him," Tom Hornyak said.
The search continued Tuesday morning after another nearly sleepless night for the Hornyaks. Drone footage had shown paw prints leading off the frozen lake, past Sara's Campground and up toward Rainbow Gardens at Waldameer Park & Water World.
At home, Butters knew something was wrong, the Hornyaks said.
"He was searching for Waffles," Tom Hornyak said. "Butters would check his bed and just look around for him in places where Waffles would like to hide."
The Hornyaks returned home Tuesday around 9:30 p.m. As they were taking off their ski pants, the phone rang.
It was Burgos. She has found a dog and was trying to confirm that it was Waffles.
"I asked if it was a Corgi. She said yes," Tom Hornyak said. "I asked what name was on its collar. She said Waffles."
"I was shocked and overwhelmed," Megan Hornyak said. "We had been hopeful but realistic about Waffles' chances. By then, it was a long shot."
Burgos said she discovered Waffles at an opportune time. She had just passed a couple of coyotes on the road before she spotted the dog.
Waffles was returned to the Hornyaks at a nearby tavern's parking lot. The Corgi was cold and tired but looked remarkably healthy for having spent 60 hours in wind chills that hovered around zero most of the time.
"We took him to the pet emergency center and they did an x-ray and found bones in his stomach, so they induced vomiting," Tom Hornyak said. "They gave him some fluids and checked for frostbite, but said he was doing well."
They took Waffles to his regular veterinarian Wednesday morning and he confirmed what the Hornyaks were told the night before. By then, Waffles was back to his regular routine, which included playing tug with Butters and sitting on any available lap.
"I attribute his health to all the prayers people sent us and the fact that Corgis are built for the cold," Tom Hornyak said. "And they are very smart dogs."
David Bruce can be reached at 870-1736 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNbruce.
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