New Mexico Dog Turns up in South Carolina 7 Years After Disappearing

A dog who disappeared seven years ago in New Mexico suddenly reappeared in South Carolina this week, leading to a heartwarming reunion on Saturday.

In 2015, Jesse Springer’s nine-year-old Jack Russell and Pug mix, Nugget, vanished while a friend was dogsitting him, the State reports.

“He rode horses at their Albuquerque home and once was kicked by one. He survived being shot. Went to rodeos. Always rode in her truck,” according to the outlet.

“I was devastated,” WXIA quotes Springer as saying. “He was microchipped. And I called the shelters and checked every couple of days but nothing.”

The State reported that Springer searched for the now-16-year-old Nugget for many years to no avail.

Then on Thursday, a South Carolina woman named Jennifer was relaxing under her carport when she spotted the pooch, she told WXIA. :

“There was kind of cars flashing their lights on him. And and so I saw him start to get past my house and I threw my shoes on, grabbed my phone with my flashlight and ran out and scooped him out of pitch dark, pouring rain, and brought him inside and got him dry.”

Knowing the dog needed help, Jennifer took him to a veterinary hospital, where it was determined that he had a microchip, per WXIA. 

The phone number associated with Springer in the microchip’s data was still current, so Jennifer was able to get in touch with her the following morning, according to the outlet. 

“I’m like, ‘What?’ And I said, ‘What? What does the dog look like?’ And she said, ‘he’s a little..,’ I can’t even say it because I’m going to start crying, she said, ‘he’s a little yellow dog and his name is Nugget,'” Springer recalled, speaking with  WXIA.

The State reported that Carolina Loving Hound Rescue is flying Springer out to South Carolina – over 1,500 miles away – to collect her Nugget. 

“Brooke Wooten, a veterinarian with Foothills, said Nugget is in pretty good shape, considering — underweight, ear infection and the beginnings of kidney disease not uncommon in a 16-year-old dog,” the outlet noted 

The pooch was cleared to fly home on Friday, Carolina Loving Hound Rescue noted, and he was reunited with Springer on Saturday.  

The organization used this joyful moment as an opportunity to remind viewers to get their dogs chipped and to keep their information current.

“This reunion was possible because of a microchip.  A registered owner never changed her phone number so one day she might get that call!!!!,” the Facebook post read.

You can follow Michael Foster on Twitter at @realmfoster.