SILEX – A seven-yearold dog went missing over the weekend and is now home healing from a gunshot wound.

Owner Lawrence Joseph Sandoval of Silex said he put Brutus, a pitbull mix with blue neapolitan mastiff, outside on Saturday in an interior dog house with another family dog. By the next morning, Brutus was gone as he dug a hole, according to Sandoval, up under the yard of the insulated mini house he was in.

“I looked for him all that morning but could not find him. I messaged people who live around me to see if anyone saw him and they didn’t so I figured I would just wait it out,” Sandoval said.

Still no Brutus to be found. Around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Tony James of Troy discovered the dog on Walker Road near Highway KK, towards the bottom of the hill. He says Brutus was limping on the side of the road and “my first instinct was he’s hurt.” James got out of his vehicle and Brutus hobbled up to him.

“He got blood everywhere in the back seat of my car,” James said. “I didn’t even care. Once he got in, he laid down. He never whined. He never barked. So I knew he wanted help. When I got in the car, I told my wife, ‘find an open vet’ and I just started driving.”

Upon arriving at an open veterinary office, James learned that Brutus had suffered from a gunshot.

He was also told the bullet was not going to be removed since it was not causing Brutus any issues. Meanwhile, the owner needed to be located. Through the power of social media, the story was shared and soon Sandoval and Brutus were reunited.

But at first, Sandoval was not convinced that the story on Facebook was his best bud Brutus since he was discovered nearly 20 miles away from home.

“I’m very, very, very, very grateful that they found him. He is my family’s best friend,” he said.

Sandoval says that Brutus is sore and has a bad hobble but is happy to be safely home and he is “wagging his tail.”

He is on pain medications and antibiotics and will have another vet visit.

Right now, Sandoval is not allowing visitors while Brutus is still on the mend. But once Brutus is healed, James hopes to pay him a visit.

“I’m glad they are reunited. I want to see how he’s doing,” he said.