Meet Boogie Butts, the half-marathon running dog

Boogie finished the YMCA Half Marathon in Evansville, Indiana, over the weekend, which isn't anything particularly noteworthy, really. Until you learn that Boogie is a chocolate Labrador. It seems Boogie escaped from his owners Friday night and managed to find his way among the 2,000 participants in Saturday's race.

Boogie Butts -- publications have taken to affixing his owner's last name to Boogie in their coverage (and for that the world is a better place) -- ended up running most of the 13.1-mile course and finished in a very respectable time of 2:15.

But after crossing the finish line, Boogie was taken into custody by Animal Control (#FREEBOOGIE!). Jerry Butts, Boogie's owner, went and reclaimed his dog Monday morning, and he had no idea of his pooch's pace-setting, nor of his Internet celebrity status.

"I could hear him barking soon as I got out the car. ... Right then (a woman at Animal Control) said, 'Your dog is an Internet celebrity, and you're going to have to have proof it's yours,'" Butts said, while holding tightly to Boogie's leash.

On Monday, Boogie finally earned what most runner's are after in race -- his finisher's medal.

Boogie sporting his well deserved medal pic.twitter.com/o11QsF8RlI

— Brandon Bartlett (@Brandon14News) October 7, 2013

Kim Arney, who ended up running with Boogie for the final three miles, presented the Lab with his medal -- "I lost my race buddy about mile 4 or 5 and picked up a new one around mile 10," she said.

So what's next for Boogie? Getting neutered:

Marking the fourth escape for Boogie, Butts said the pup will likely be neutered.

"He's going to lose part of his manhood here. That was part of the deal, and now he's got an identification chip, too," Butts said.

A recovery ice bath may be in order.

via Evansville Courier & Press