Roscoe, a German shepherd mix

In this case, something happened that seems like it should be normal, but it's not. The shelter worker actually remembered this guy's description of his lost dog when someone called days later describing a dog they had found.

Dog, family reunited after interstate wreck
By The Times-News of Burlington
Monday, September 8, 2008

Dale Watkins hoped for a miracle, but he wasn't expecting one.

Watkins, 49, of Greensboro, had already tempted fate late on Aug. 26 and lived to tell about it. He never imagined that his story would have a fairy-tale ending. But thanks to the help of friends, a couple of dog lovers and a caring administrative assistant at Burlington Animal Services, Watkins got one.

His story starts with a trip to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Aug. 26 to visit his son, Thomas Watkins, who is a freshman.

''He had asked me to bring his dog so he could see him," Dale Watkins said.

Roscoe, a German shepherd mix, joined the Watkins family about a year ago. They adopted him when he was just a puppy from the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Virginia. Thomas, who wasn't away at school long, was already missing the pup.

After the visit, Dale Watkins and Roscoe headed back to Greensboro via Interstate 85/40 in a 1993 Mercedes Benz. Roscoe rode in the back seat. When Watkins went under the overpass at the Huffman Mill Road exit at about 10:50 p.m., he decided to change lanes to get away from a tractor-trailer.

''It was raining on and off so I moved from the third lane toward the middle to the inside passing lane because the spray of the truck kept coming on my windshield," Watkins said.

When Watkins moved to the inside lane, the car's back tires started to slide, pushing the car toward the median wall. Watkins took his foot off the accelerator, which caused the car to start spinning. He did a few 360-degree turns on the highway and the front of the car ended up under the tractor trailer.

''It didn't hit the trailer," Watkins said. "It barely scraped my mirror." The car spun again and the rear tires ended up under the trailer and the car was pushed down the road.

''I heard the back window explode," he said. The car then spun out again in front of two other tractortrailers.

''All I know is that I closed my eyes and waited for the impact," he said. "The car was still spinning and the next thing I know is I heard the trucks go past." Watkins opened his eyes and watched his car hit the median. When the car stopped, he looked into the backseat and noticed that Roscoe was gone.

''I thought he was thrown from the car," Watkins said.

Watkins, who bruised his collarbone, his ribs and side, got out of the car and walked to the emergency lane. He dialed 911 and called Roscoe multiple times but there was no sign of the dog. Watkins continued to call the dog until help arrived almost an hour later.

He didn't see the truck driver until the N.C. Highway Patrol trooper arrived on the scene. The trooper asked the truck driver why he waited so long to return to the scene, Watkins said.

''The driver said 'because I didn't think there were any survivors,'" Watkins said.

The next day, Watkins called his friend Gretchen Stumpf, of Greensboro, because he knew she liked dogs, and he needed her help. Stumpf and her friend headed back to I-85/40, posting fliers and calling for Roscoe. Stumpf also contacted Alamance County's animal shelter and spoke with Becky Mitchell.

Stumpf described Roscoe, but he wasn't at the shelter. She provided Mitchell with photos of Roscoe and a description. Then Stumpf waited. There wasn't much more she could do. On Labor Day, Linda Reid and her neighbor, Deborah Brown, who live on Evergreen Lane in Pinewood Forest, Burlington, both heard a dog barking. They spotted a young dog that looked like a German shepherd, except his ears flopped down.
''He was just terrified," Reid said. "I thought he had been mistreated and maybe broke loose or something." They lured the dog into Brown's backyard with dog biscuits, but he remained frightened.

Reid thought she saw the dog laying on a neighbor's stoop a few days before so she walked around the neighborhood, which is behind Outback Steakhouse, just south of the interstate at the Huffman Mill Road exit.

No one claimed the dog and on Wednesday, Reid called Burlington Animal Services to see if anyone called about the dog. Reid didn't know that the pup, who wasn't wearing a collar, had a microchip with identification information. If she brought him to any veterinarian or the animal shelter, the information could have been retrieved by scanning the chip. But in this case, the chip wasn't necessary because Mitchell asked Reid a few questions about the dog and knew immediately that it was Roscoe. She gave Stumpf's phone number to Reid. When Stumpf learned that Reid might have a dog that fit Roscoe's description, she jumped in the car and headed to Burlington. As soon as Roscoe saw Stumpf, he recognized her.

''The dog was jumping all over her," Reid said. "He was just so excited. I was just in tears. I was beside myself. That poor dog evidently had just been through hell." Stumpf tried to reach Dale Watkins to tell him the news, but she couldn't get in touch with him. She was able to reach Thomas Watkins.

''I told him I had his dog," Stumpf said. "He immediately started crying and was excited." Later that evening, Dale Watkins and Roscoe were together again.

''I was pretty amazed first of all that either one of us survived and that after almost a week, that he was safe," Dale Watkins said.

Everyone -- Dale Watkins, Stumpf and Reid -- all praise Mitchell because she was able to make the connection.

''I give her a lot of credit," Stumpf said. "So many times you call an animal shelter and report a missing animal and they never do anything about it. ... She was a huge part in making this happen. It could have easily fallen through the cracks."

The night Roscoe returned home, all he wanted to do was fetch a Frisbee. Dale Watkins was more than willing to indulge the dog's wishes. He plans to take another trip to Chapel Hill today so Thomas can visit with Roscoe.

''We hoped for a miracle ending of a dog being reunited with his family and after a period of time, it actually happened," he said.

Source:
http://www.news-record.com/content/2008/09/08/article/dog_family_reunited_after_interstate_wreck