How an Accident Reunited a Lost Beagle With Colorado Owner After 8 Weeks

— -- A Colorado man who searched tirelessly for his lost dog was reunited with his Beagle eight weeks later when the dog was hit by car 50 miles away from home.

“I never thought I’d see him again or have him back as a member of the family,” David Snyder, the dog’s owner, told ABC's Denver affiliate ABC7 of his Beagle, TJ. “It’s really nice to have him back.”

TJ was lost on May 14 while with a dog sitter at a park in Fort Collins, Snyder said.

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“We posted signs, distributed flyers, made phone calls and got the word out to everyone we could,” Snyder wrote on a GiveForward page he has set up for TJ’s medical expenses.

Though tips came in and Snyder was able to track the Beagle for a couple of weeks, nobody could seem to catch TJ.

TJ wandered south of his Fort Collins home all the way to Boulder, 50 miles away. Boulder Animal Control received several calls about him, but attempts to catch him were unsuccessful.

On July 9, eight weeks after being lost, TJ was struck by a car in Boulder. Animal Control took the Beagle to an emergency center and was able to scan his microchip to contact Snyder, informing him that TJ had suffered serious injuries in the accident.

The Beagle had to have his right hind leg amputated and is currently recovering. ABC7 reports TJ is due for one more surgery, but will be home next weekend.

“I’ll be excited once he comes home,” said Snyder. “Just looking forward to that day.”