Rascal back home after traveling from Kansas to San Diego - Cincinnati News, Weather, Sports from FOX19 NOW-WXIX

A family in Kansas is thrilled to be reunited with their runaway dog, Rascal, who traveled more than 1,500 miles over the holidays.

Rascal was found running loose last week in San Diego. The 13-month-old Jack Russell terrier mix disappeared over Thanksgiving from his home in Oswego. The pup's humans are Ty and Nikki Lewis and their children, ages 7 and 9.

It's a mystery how Rascal ended up in Southern California. The theory is someone, perhaps a truck driver, picked up Rascal from Kansas and drove him to California.

The San Diego County Department of Animal Services says the dog was found by a good Samaritan in the Kearny Mesa area. Rascal was still wearing his tag, with the phone number of a veterinarian in Kansas. A call was made to the vet, and arrangements were made to send Rascal home. The Foundation for the Care of Indigent Animals paid for a flight for Rascal on Saturday.

Nikki Lewis said they were astounded to get a call that their dog had been found in the San Diego area.

She said after a month that she didn't think they would see the dog again, but her children didn't give up hope.

"The kids kept praying that he would be found and come home," Lewis said. "We kept asking what they wanted for Christmas, of course, and the answer we kept getting was, 'We want Rascal to come home.'"

And he did in a most unexpected fashion. He gave the children lots of kisses after they picked him up at Tulsa's airport.

And now the family vows to make Rascal an inside dog in hopes that his roaming days are over.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright 2013 KCTV (MeredithCorp.). All rights reserved.