Binky the 18-year-old dog was missing for years. Then, a scruffy pup appeared in SC
When Binky the dog went missing from Georgia, his family waited years for answers.
Then, their beloved pet was found more than 350 miles away, roaming around with rotting teeth and matted hair. Eventually, the sad circumstances led to an emotional reunion, according to an animal shelter in South Carolina.
“Binky returned to his family after a long awaited 3 years,” Dorchester Paws wrote March 31 in a news release. “Tears were had by all, as this impossible journey was completed.”
Binky — an 18-year-old rescue also known as Mr. B — was reunited with his owners more than three years after his disappearance left them “absolutely devastated.”
“They did everything they could but had no luck in finding him,” the shelter wrote. “All they hoped for was for him to be found and scanned.”
It turns out, Binky had a microchip, which contains information about an animal’s owner. So when he was found in Summerville, roughly 25 miles northwest of Charleston, the shelter could check for one.
Workers scanned the chip after a Good Samaritan spotted Binky on the loose. At the time, the shelter said he was “severely matted, malnourished, had overgrown nails, rotting teeth, covered in fleas and with a whole slew of other medical issues that required immediate attention due to his age.”
As Binky got a haircut and medical care, Dorchester Paws also worked to contact his family. When the owners learned March 19 that Binky had been found, it left them in “utter disbelief,” the shelter wrote.
“Binky’s story is not only heart wrenching, but a story of the importance of microchips and doing the right thing ...” Lanea Wilson, manager of the pet support department at Dorchester Paws, wrote in the news release. “Microchips truly are life saving and the best way to get a lost pet back home. If you find a lost pet, please go to the nearest vet office or animal shelter to get them scanned for a microchip — someone could be missing that pet.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2023 at 1:17 PM with the headline "Binky the 18-year-old dog was missing for years. Then, a scruffy pup appeared in SC."
