Missing Greenport Dog Finds Way Home Safe: 'She Completed Our Family'

GREENPORT, NY — A 14-year-old Greenport boy and his mom who were frantically searching for their missing dog, Violet, had the happiest of endings Sunday night when Violet came home, safe.

According to Jade Eckardt, Violet found her way home about 11 p.m.

"I was out driving around in the dark still and pulled up in front of the house and sat in the car for a few minutes and she eventually came running up. Totally soaked. But we’d been looking on the beach for so long and didn’t see her," she said.

"I’m so, so grateful and happy. Just so happy that she’s home," Ulu Aipa, Eckardt's son, said.

"I was so worried; it’s such a relief. I guess she was gallivanting in the back of the marsh because we didn’t see her on the beach. It feels so good to have her home," Eckardt said.

Violet went missing Sunday from their home on Pipes Neck Road, near Pipes Cove beach and Drossos, she said.

"She's nervous and timid, so snacks help — but a total friends' lover when she's comfortable," Eckardt said.

Eckardt said she has no idea how Violet disappeared. "We have a fully enclosed backyard and she’s never escaped before. I was home — and she just disappeared," she said. "I noticed when I went out to get her. She was just gone with no sign of getting out, no open gate, no holes dug."

The thought of losing Violet was unthinkable for Eckardt and her son, Ulu Aipa, 14 — both were devastated, tears streaming as they searched. Eckardt brought the dog home from upstate for her son last year.

“Violet is everything to me. I wanted a puppy my whole life, and my mom finally got her for me right after Christmas last year," Ulu said.

Friends in Mattituck have Violet's brother, Eckardt added.

Their dog means everything, both said.

"Violet completed our family. She’s so full of love and just loves engaging and hanging out with us," Eckardt said.

The community came together in a show of love and support to help, Eckardt said. "We had neighbors and friends out driving around looking for her, too. It was so awesome to see everyone out there helping us. We are so grateful for such good people in our lives."

(Editor's note: Jade Eckardt is a Patch reporter and editor)