Almost two months after he escaped from his kennel and went missing, Karson, a Wilmington, Ohio, police department K-9 officer has been found safe.
The 3-year-old Belgian Malinois went missing on Dec. 23, 2014, after he escaped from an animal care center where he was staying while his police handler, Officer Jerry Popp, was on vacation.
The dog attracted a large social media following after he disappeared. The Facebook page "K-9 Karson," which was set up to track his sightings, gained more than 24,000 likes, while posts from Popp received thousands of interactions.
On Sunday afternoon, a post on the Facebook page announced that Karson was finally found safe. Popp, who also manages the Facebook page, shared how the dog was rescued on Sunday evening.
"I received a call from my dispatch that a dog was sighted on ST RT 71 north of ST RT 68," Popp shared on Facebook. "The dog was in a field between Starbuck Rd and 71. I was in Xenia at the time with my partner, Jordina Ghiggeri from Lost Pet Professionals, and made contact with a dedicated Clinton Co SO deputy who told me, 'Jerry, this is your dog. It's Karson.' "
Pam Jones, one of the 20,000 people who helped search for Karson, and her husband spotted the dog and called 911 after being pretty certain that it was the missing dog although she had qualms at first because of the way the dog's ears looked.
"We spotted an animal to our right but his ears kind of were down. But once that confirmation came that yes, that's him, then I think all bets were off," Jones said. "We were getting that dog."
Popp said that the dog lost about 14 pounds, but seemed fine. A veterinarian also examined Karson on Sunday to make sure he was alright. The dog survived two bitter cold temperature swings during the time of his disappearance. The first was early last month and the second this week.
Popp, however, has said that he is confident that the dog can survive regardless of the very cold weather. He said that Karson was trained to survive and that the dog was strong and smart enough it can either find a shelter or keep moving.
Karson was under Popp's care for 14 months before it disappeared. $2,000 was offered as a reward for the safe return of the dog.
