18-year-old dog reunited with owners after missing for 3 years

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - When an 18-year-old dog named Binky arrived at a Lowcountry animal shelter it was clear he was in desperate need of medical attention.

The staff at Dorchester Paws said Binky was severely matted and malnourished with rotting teeth and overgrown nails. The staff said Binky was covered in fleas and needed medical attention.

What the staff didn’t know at the time was that a family six hours away had been searching for Binky for over three years.

So when a good samaritan brought Binky into the shelter the medical team jumped into action. They shaved him completely and gave him the medical treatment he needed.

Shelter staff also scanned Binky for a microchip and that’s how they discovered his family.

For a family that had been waiting by the phone and searching for Binky, March 19 was a day that left them in disbelief.

“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 Dorchester Paws Pet Support Department, said. “If someone would have got Binky scanned when he was first found in Georgia he could have been reunited a lot sooner. Somehow this little guy made it up to Summerville, got loose again, and was finally brought in to be scanned for a microchip. 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, whether only a few hours or years, they may have a family desperately looking for them somewhere.”

A volunteer from the shelter drove Binky the six hours to reunite with his family in Georgia where tears were shed and Binky could rest.

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