A McDonough family has been reunited – both two-legged and four-legged members – just in time for the holidays.

  An automobile accident six months ago in front of Piedmont Henry Hospital resulted in a different type of trauma. While Brooke Bailey was being assisted by bystanders in the aftermath of the wreck, someone rolled down a window in her vehicle and Oscar, her Great Pyrenees dog, leaped out and sped away.

  That was the last Bailey saw of Oscar until last week, when she picked him up at the Henry County animal shelter where he had been delivered by some caring strangers. The dog had survived alone in a neighborhood near the scene of the accident, with random residents pitching in to help care for him as much as he would allow.

  “I spoke to every shelter, posted on Facebook, and did everything I physically could do,” said Bailey, who had another setback in the form of a stroke a month after the wreck. “My husband went out many times to look for him, but every time we got a call we would go there and Oscar would be gone. He was elusive.”

  Bailey assumed her dog was going from restaurant to restaurant in the Eagle’s Landing area, eating out of trash cans to survive. As it turned out, he was in that area but camped mostly in the woods around the homes in the Windsong subdivision.

  One of those residents was Mitzi Assing, who watched as Oscar made the rounds with the help of various neighbors who would put out food and water for him. He was not trusting enough to let any of those residents get near him for quite some time, until finally one neighbor coaxed him into her home, Assing said.

  “We were not familiar with him having been lost in the accident and had no idea that his owners were looking for him,” she added.

  After making contact with a facility in Atlanta which specializes in this type of dog – “he’s like a big lion,” according to Bailey – the Windsong rescuers were instructed to take Oscar to Henry County Animal Care and Control for a mandatory four-day hold. Despite some concern that it might traumatize the dog even more, they took that advise.

  “I held Oscar’s big head and looked into his eyes,” said Assing. “I promised him that everything would be all right and if not, I would adopt him.”

  That was not necessary. The Baileys had already contacted the shelter to alert officials of Oscar’s disappearance, and they were contacted as soon as the dog was delivered.

  “We went and picked him up before they even opened,” said Bailey.

  Oscar had been cleaned up well by his Windsong caretakers, and now he would be back home with his two sibling dogs as well as his parents.

  To prevent this kind of extended absence from reoccurring, Oscar has been fitted with a microchip. The Baileys have a GPS tracker that can be used should they ever have to find him again.

    Apparently it took no time at all for him to get readjusted to life back at home. “He moved right back into his regular spot,” said Bailey. “He’s been demanding extra attention since he’s been gone for so long.”

  For anyone else interested in microchipping a pet, Henry County Animal Care and Control provides this service on a fairly regular basis and can connect you with a veterinarian or other professional who can do it immediately. Call 770-288-PETS for more information.