3 girls help reunite goldendoodles running loose on Pittsburgh-area highway with owner
By: Meghan Schiller and KDKA-TV Producer Ashley Funyak
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A pair of goldendoodles deciding to make a break away last week was saved by a local group of young girls -- all before dinner time.
The two dogs, named Dexter and Roman, went running through an open fence and straight towards busy Route 30 in Westmoreland County this past Sunday. Thankfully, it ended in nothing but big smiles and sloppy kisses in the back of the family's minivan.
Riding the high of a big soccer win, the group of young girls had a plan of making breakfast for dinner. Those plans quickly changed on the family's drive home, when the two dogs came onto the scene.
"We see these dogs going to Route 30, and we were at a red light, my mom and sister jumped out of the car and my mom started screaming 'stop those dogs!'" said Megan Schade.
The rescue happened in a gas station parking lot, with mom wrangling them up into the van with the girls making space in the backseat.
"The dogs were thrilled to see us," Neilah Schade said. "They were just all over the place, the one kept standing up in the front, thinking he was the king of the car."
The chariot took him and his brother straight to a nearby pet store. Following a quick scan of their microchips, a text message popped up on Zach Keslar's phone.
"I was terrified," says Keslar. "I thought my worst nightmare was coming true, and when I got the text it was just one of the best feelings I've ever had."
There the dogs were, cuddled up safe in these little girls' arms.
Keslar says he is incredibly thankful for the girls for taking such good care of his dogs, calling them his heroes.
The whole rescue mission took about two hours. It turns out, that's the exact amount of time the group of girls needed to create what they call their masterpiece -- a movie trailer documenting their experience. Keslar says he got his dog back and a personal movie trailer all in one week.
"I was driving on the way to work, and I got it and my heart just melted," Keslar says. "I couldn't believe it, and the fact they're so young, and they put a video like that together was absolutely incredible."
Three young girls empowered by creativity and kindness are now left with a drive home for dinner that they'll never forget. Don't worry -- they got their pancakes.
Keslar says he's had a tough year-and-a-half, and his two dogs got him through some difficult days. He reached out to KDKA to share this story because he says with everything going on with the world right now, we need to highlight the good people who never hesitate to do the right thing.