Lucy, once a rescue pup and now an emotional support dog for an elderly Battery Park City woman, spent a day on the lam after escaping from her Manhattan apartment and racing into a subway station Saturday.
“She definitely has some abuse in her life and is nervous about new people. She’ll be hard to catch,” said a shaken Molly Malone. “She’s been through a lot of things, including the pandemic, when she was my mom’s only companion. She’s the sweetest little thing.”
Susan Malone, 76, Lucy’s owner, has been hospitalized since last week with a broken arm and leg.
Little Lucy was found about 10 hours later after a train conductor spotted her, Molly told The Post.
“She got all the way to 34th Street,” said Molly, who raced with MTA personnel to finally locate the missing canine.
Molly went to visit Lucy about 11 a.m. Saturday morning when the mixed-breed dog raced out the door, onto the elevator, which happened to be open and found her way into the lobby.
The dog ran past the doorman, across the West Side Highway and down into the Chambers Street station.
Lucy was last seen all the way up at 14th Street station before she was found Saturday evening.
“They won’t let me go down on the tracks because it’s too dangerous, but I think I’m the only one (Lucy) will come to,” Molly said.
Molly was planning to see her mom after she had just been transferred from a hospital to Village Care Center on Houston Street.
Instead, she spent much of the day with police at South Ferry station, worrying about the poor pup.
When she was finally found, Lucy “came right up to me,” Molly said, noting the dog bit the MTA worker who helped collar her before heading home with Molly. “We rode the train home, and she sat right next to me like a gentlewoman.”
Lucy was rescued by Jose Bonilla at the 34th Street subway station.
“She’s tired and she’s drinking a ton of water,” said Molly. “I’m so thankful for so many people who volunteered to help.”
Lucy was rescued from Puerto Rico about seven years ago and Molly estimates she is about 9 or 10 years old.
The NYPD didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Bill Farrington
Police officers at the Canal Street subway station looking for Lucy. William Farrington