Lost dog returned to Fort Washington woman over 500 days later

A Maryland woman is thanking her local community after she says her dog was found and brought home after going missing more than a year ago.

Buddy was nine months old when his owner, Jacquawn Cummings, says he was spooked during a training session and took off running.

"Took him to PetSmart for his training and Buddy ran out the door," said Jacquawn Cummings in an interview with Fox 5’s Tisha Lewis.

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The Fort Washington woman turned to social media for help. Cummings says she started posting these snapshots of the Cane Corso online — that’s when Buddy sightings began.

"I started getting calls and Buddy was in the area," said Cummings. There is home video of Buddy on several neighborhood surveillance cameras over the last year.

A complete stranger saw Buddy at the animal shelter and reportedly recognized him from Facebook and sent his owner a message on Saturday.

Buddy was found and returned safely 538 days after he ran away.

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Buddy’s owner says she believes, at some point, Buddy was taken, then released.

She says his ears were clipped while he was missing, and she's reported it to Prince George’s County police.