A runaway dog found padding through treacherous traffic and heavy rain on New Jersey’s Bayonne Bridge toward Staten Island last Tuesday night has been reunited with its Bayonne, New Jersey family.

Hailey’s adventure began on Tuesday when she slipped out of the front-yard gate at her home, her owner Melissa Perez said.

The yellow Labrador would normally have scratched at the front door to come in when it started raining, but when the family checked the front yard there was no sight of her.

Perez said that her two daughters, ages 4 and 5, implored her to find their much-loved pet. After searching the area in the rain and dark without any luck she called the Bayonne Police Department who told her that a dog was seen in the area.

The police also received calls from drivers who saw the Labrador weaving in and out of traffic along Route 440 toward the entrance to the Bayonne Bridge, Bayonne Police Lt. Eric Dietrich said.

As the Bayonne police helped Perez search for Hailey on the north side of the bridge, Rich Dietz, a medic and former volunteer firefighter crossing the bridge on his way home from Elizabeth, New Jersey jammed his brakes after almost hitting the dog.

Dietz pulled over and called police about the dog.

“I couldn’t keep driving as I love animals,” Dietz said. “Trucks and cars were coming within inches of it. I had to hold my breath every time.”

A Port Authority police officer responding to Dietz’s call at around 9 p.m., boxed in the dog using his vehicle and grabbed the soggy pooch.

While heading to a Staten Island shelter with the dog, the P.A. police received a call from the Bayonne Police Department who were still searching for Hailey.

Perez said she “stopped crying” when she got the news her dog was safe.

The family reunion took place a short while later.