Kansas dog returns to its owners six weeks after leaving them and ending up in San Diego

TULSA - The Tulsa International Airport played host to the reunion of a dog and its owners Saturday.

Ty and Nikki Lewis and their children Dani, 9, and Kass, 7, drove from Oswego, Kansas to Tulsa to be reunited with their Jack Russell Terrier mix, Rascal.

It was a trip six weeks in the making.

Rascal, who earned his name for his ability to escape his Kansas home and cause trouble for the Lewis family, went missing the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Within two days, Rascal, just a puppy, was in San Diego.

"It was Tuesday morning. We got a call from our vet[erinarian] saying somebody had called them. She gave me the number to call the people and when I called, they were -- the number was a number not around here and it wound up the person was in San Diego," Ty explained.

Ty spoke with a man in San Diego who had Rascal. He assumed someone had driven Rascal to California thinking Rascal was a stray. Ty and the San Diego resident conversed that Tuesday over how they could get Rascal back to Oswego. Then, Rascal did he as had in the past.

"By that evening, he was gone again and we thought we'd never find him again," Ty said.

To the dismay of the Lewises, they felt it was time to move on without Rascal.

"We had already decided, you know, he's not coming back. It's time to start looking for a new one, and then low and behold, a couple days ago, we get a phone call and we were just in total disbelief," Nikki said.

San Diego County Animal Services contacted the Lewises last Wednesday to let them know they had Rascal in their possession. Rascal's red collar had the phone number to the Lewis' veterinarian. From there, the Lewises prepared for Rascal's return.

Ty and Nikki told their children they'd be traveling to Tulsa Saturday to pick up one of Ty's old friends at the airport. After waiting more than an hour at the airport, United Airlines employees carried a dog crate to the ticket area where the Lewises were standing. Then, the ultimate surprise for Dani and Kass.

Ty opened the door to the crate, and Dani and Kass ran to greet the puppy they wished would return to them on Christmas.

"I am so glad to see Rascal," Kass exclaimed.

"I was like--I just felt like, what? I'm just really happy," Dani said.

Rascal returned to Oswego with the family Saturday.

Ty and Nikki said he will now be an inside dog.