Dog jumps from car during crash in Chester County, reunited with owner weeks later

CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — A little dog is reunited with his owner hundreds of miles away in Florida thanks to some compassion from local emergency workers.

The Chihuahua mix named Goofus was in a serious crash in July when his owner collided with another car on Interstate 77 in Chester County. He jumped out of the car, made his way down the busy interstate, through the woods and disappeared. He survived on his own for nearly three weeks.

“I opened the door because I’m being crushed by these airbags and there was enough room for the dog to get out,” said his owner Jean Powers.

Chester County’s animal control helped set up traps on the side of the interstate. They said Powers set on the side of the road for days, waiting on her best friend.

“The dog never actually made it into the trap. He was just scared to go close to the road again,” said Trisha Zimmerman, with Chester County Animal Control.

“We try to stay positive in this line of work, but when it comes to a highway, with a dog less that 10 pounds, that’s a scary situation,” said Jessica Roof, with Chester County Animal Control.

But just as many had given up hope, Goofus was found alive and well. He showed up on a local woman’s front porch. The woman recognized Goofus from a post that the Richburg Fire Department had put on Facebook.

“She had done things such as a microchip that helped us know that was her dog without a shadow of a doubt, that dog was registered to her. There was no way for us to mistake that,” Roof said.

This week, Goofus had a sweet reunion with his owner in Tampa, Florida.

“That’s really something that can’t be explained, you know. I mean, all the sadness you’ve felt in the past two weeks, it’s just kind of lifted you know,” Powers said.

She said Goofus has not left her side since he got home.

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