Firefighters for Sarcoxie Township in Jefferson County have their Dalmatian mascot, Booster, back.

But the dog’s owners are still puzzled how the 9-month-old deaf puppy ended up 10 miles from its home in rural Jefferson County and in the middle of Lawrence after disappearing sometime Monday night.

And Fire Chief Doug Schmitt and his wife, Lisa, said they don’t believe the animal at-large ticket and notice to appear in court from the City of Lawrence is warranted.

“I just don’t believe that he ran away that far. (The dog) being deaf – I can’t see him getting across U.S. Highway 24 or even down Wellman Road,” Lisa Schmitt said.

A Lawrence Animal Control officer found the dog Tuesday in the 2000 block of Massachusetts after Booster went missing between 9:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. Monday while the Schmitts were gone from home.

They often left Booster outside with their other dogs and he had always returned home, Lisa Schmitt said.

Whitney Van dyke, 18, and her mother, Lisa Schmitt, along with Booster, their Dalmatian, sit Thursday evening in front of the Sarcoxie Township Fire Department. Booster disappeared Monday, but he was found in Lawrence and taken to the Humane Society. Schmitt was ticketed for an animal at-large, but she contests the fine, saying the dog was stolen.

The Schmitts said they think someone took the dog and eventually let him go after discovering he had a bladder problem or wouldn’t come when called.

Booster ended up at the Lawrence Humane Society, and a neighbor of the Schmitts picked up the dog on Wednesday. An animal control officer wrote a ticket to the neighbor, who was also given a notice to appear in Municipal Court in two weeks.

According to city ordinance, the first offense for a conviction for having an animal at-large carries a $30 fine.

The Lawrence Humane Society took in hundreds of dogs that were likely spooked and ran from Independence Day fireworks, said Midge Grinstead, the shelter’s executive director.

Grinstead also said the city should show leniency and only charge a pick-up fee from the shelter around the holiday if fireworks contributed.

“I think that if the city is going to ban fireworks and not enforce it, they should have some mercy on people whose dogs get out beyond their control,” she said.

Grinstead said a few deaf dogs were brought to the shelter during a five-day period surrounding the Fourth of July holiday. The deaf dogs can still feel the vibrations from fireworks, she said.

Booster's I.D. shows he's a member of the fire department.

“It’s possible that there’s some defense to it, but the ordinance is kind of a strict liability in a sense,” City Prosecutor Jerry Little said. “The fact is, if the dog’s running at-large within the city, then they are kind of automatically guilty.”

Little says his office often works with defendants to resolve animal at-large cases. He brings down the fine if it is a first offense and there may be mitigating factors, such as the dog digging a hole to escape a yard.

But Lisa Schmitt said for now the family would fight the case because Booster showed up with not so much as a scratch after a supposed 10-mile trek.

On the bright side, the firefighters are happy. The couple won Booster at a firefighter auction in Topeka, and the crew immediately took a liking to him.

“Just right away. As soon as we brought him back from Topeka. Dalmatians are cute by nature anyway,” Doug Schmitt said.