Esther Atkins—who won first place at the USA Marathon Championships in 2014 and got a spot on the World Championships Marathon Team in 2015—and her dog, Grace, were coming back from their morning walk in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 2 when Atkins spotted a stray pit bull in the park across the street from her house.



“I figured it was a neighbor’s dog, so I called him over,” Atkins told Runner’s World by phone. “He was a little sheepish, but he followed me home.”

Along the way, she asked anyone she passed if they knew who the dog belonged to, but unfortunately no one did. So she immediately put a call out on social media to see if she could track his owner down.

When no one came forward within a couple of hours, Atkins walked him to her vet, who discovered that he was chipped. And while his contact information wasn’t up to date, Atkins’s vet put her in touch with the humane society he was chipped at, which was ultimately able to contact his owner.

As it turned out, the dog—whose name Atkins found out was Ratchet—had been missing for about a year, and was now 68 miles from his home.

But on August 3, Ratchet and his family—who thought they’d never see him again—were reunited thanks to Atkins’s determination.



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Ratchet will be reunited with his family today, a full year after going missing!! Follow along on my instagram story @ErbyAtkins ! https://t.co/HMLzrExawx — Esther Atkins (@ErbyAtkins) August 3, 2018

“[Ratchet’s] tail went double-speed as soon as he saw them,” Atkins said. “His heart just burst.”

Atkins, who documented the reunion, put together a video (below) that details the event, along with a little bit of his backstory and how she found him.

Ratchet is now safely at home with his family, who are all more than happy to have him back.

Danielle Zickl Associate Health & Fitness Editor Danielle specializes in interpreting and reporting the latest health research and also writes and edits in-depth service pieces about fitness, training, and nutrition.

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