West Virginia Dog Who Went Missing on Vacation Found Years Later on South Carolina Highway

Roscoe, a five-year-old pit bull mix, was recently found on the side of a highway with an injured leg after disappearing from a vacation in South Carolina almost three years ago

When a South Carolina rescue received a five-year-old pit bull mix found alone on the side of a highway, it wasn't sure the best way to help the dog at first.

All 4 Paws Animal Rescue usually doesn't take in strays, but Peyton Kennedy, who works there, decided to take a chance on the dog from the highway, who arrived with an injured leg.

The rescue scanned the canine for a microchip — a small chip implanted in a pet's skin that contains its owner's contact information — and struck gold.

"He had a [micro]chip, so I immediately called the chip company 24PetWatch, and they gave me all the info I needed," Kennedy told ABC15 News in Myrtle Beach.

"And I called the phone number, and the phone number was disconnected. So, I was like, 'Oh no, it's a lost cause,'" she said.

Not willing to give up, Kennedy decided to post about the lost dog on social media. And it worked!

"In my heart, I was just like, 'You know what, I'm just going to post it to Facebook,' Kennedy explained.

"I'm not going to put the name of the dog, the gender, nothing. And two hours later, someone commented, 'Oh my gosh, that's Roscoe. That's my dog missing from West Virginia.' I was like, 'What?' and they were like, 'He's been missing for three years,'" she told ABC15.

The person who commented, Rachel Day, told Kennedy that the dog, Roscoe, belonged to her brother, Calvin, but disappeared during a trip to Myrtle Beach in September 2020.

"They were inseparable," Day said. "Everywhere they went together. It was heartbreaking. He just continued to continuously try and find the dog."

Luckily, when Kennedy contacted the chip company, Roscoe's owner was emailed, so he knew his dog was out there. Day checked the rescue site, and the dog was identified.

Roscoe's owner lives in West Virginia, hundreds of miles from Myrtle Beach, and it's challenging for him to currently travel to South Carolina to reunite with Roscoe, so the Myrtle Beach community is helping out by driving the dog halfway home.

"I was surprised — pleasantly surprised — to find out that he was still around," Day said of Roscoe.

Her brother told her: "I never thought I was going to see him again."