Dog that vanished in Kansas found wandering in San Diego

 If all goes well, a dog named Rascal should be home in Kansas by Saturday, after an unexplained odyssey that resulted in him being found running loose in San Diego.

The 13-month-old Jack Russell terrier mix disappeared over Thanksgiving from the home in Oswego, Kan., where he lived with Ty and Nikki Lewis and their children, ages 7 and 9.

Just how Rascal came to be in San Diego is unknown.

But he was found this week in the Kearny Mesa area by a good Samaritan, according to the county Department of Animal Services.

Rascal was still wearing his dog tag, with the phone number of a veterinarian in Oswego. A call was made to the veterinarian and a reunion arranged.

The Foundation for the Care of Indigent Animals is paying the fare for a United flight Saturday from San Diego to Tulsa, Okla., about two hours from Oswego.

Nikki Lewis is playing things safe: not a word to the children until Rascal arrives.

"I'm just telling them we're picking up someone at the airport," she said.

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-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Rascal. Credit: San Diego County Department of Animal Services