Lori Dougherty, of Louisville, said one of her four golden retrievers was missing when she returned from the Baltimore race, where her horse, Ride on Curlin, had finished second.
She told WAVE-TV the 13-year-old dog, Roscoe, has followed the same morning routine for years, leaving home about 8 a.m. to examine neighboring yards and returning about an hour later.
"He's like the neighborhood mascot," said Dougherty, who also has two puppies and an 11-year-old dog.
She began worrying when Roscoe didn't return Monday by 10 a.m., and she started looking for him at noon.
Neighbors helped search for the dog as Dougherty's children became increasingly upset.
Roscoe finally came home about 8 p.m., but Dougherty said a large area of the dog's right hip had been shaved, and he had at least 10 stitches closing an incision there.
The dog had been treated over the years for a recurring quarter-inch hot spot in that same area.
Dougherty called area veterinarians, but none of them admitted to performing the surgery.
Vets also said surgery would not have been necessary to treat a hot spot.
The family's vet examined Roscoe and gave him some antibiotics, but Dougherty said the dog appears to be fine.
Just a thought, but when I worked at an animal clinic, there were a few cases that were brought in because someone had hit a dog or cat with a car on the road and brought it in for help not knowing who the animal belonged to. Maybe someone hit him and took him to a vet to get the doggie taken care of and then returned him, and did not want to fess up to the owners. I'm not saying that is the right thing to do, but it might be an explanation to what happened to him.