It turns out the dog was in jail instead.

Soup’s tags had fallen off during his daring mile-long jaunt into the forest and beyond but he still had his microchip. However, those who found him didn’t realize it. It wasn’t until they heard about a family searching for their dog a mile away that they realized they had an escapee on their hands.

Soup was discovered by Charles Brooks the following morning at 6 am. The dog was lying beside a state vehicle and looked scared. Brooks gave him a biscuit and took him into work at the Kilby Correctional Facility.

But Soup was no prisoner. In fact, he was living like a prince in the most unlikely of places. He would follow around the maintenance staff, run around the prison yard, play basketball with the inmates, and even received gifts of roast beef, chicken tenders, steak, and cobbler from the inmates during mealtime, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.

“He was living high on the hog,” Mrs. Parker said of Soup’s time in the slammer.

It was only a 3-day stay but already Soup was enjoying himself. That might have been the case forever had it not been for a missing pets Facebook group. That’s where the Parkers learned that a dog matching Soup’s description was hanging out at the Kilby Correctional Facility.

“Someone called and said, ‘He’s up at Kilby Prison and they’re taking care of him and want to keep him,'” Mrs. Parker told the Montgomery Advertiser. “You better go get him before they do.”

When Michael Parker pulled up to the maintenance shop of the prison in his truck, he whistled for Soup, who came trotting out to him.

Parker broke down in tears as the dog licked and comforted him.

“You absolutely knew that it was his dog,” Brooks said. “Me and the dog were inseparable for three days, and he wouldn’t even come to me when that man pulled up.”

But it turns out Soup had grown to like his adopted home, even if he was thrilled to see his owner again. The Parkers said the dog was a bit despondent the first night home, although he acted like himself again within a day.

Still, the Parkers know Soup misses his new friends – and they miss him too.

“They want him to come back and visit,” Mrs. Parker said. “The prisoners had all been playing with him, they all loved him.”

The Parkers are already planning to take Soup back for visits.

“We’re going to take him to visit the prison,” Mrs. Parker said. “And we’re going to take the warden a pecan pie.”

Be sure to scroll down below to see the news story about the unlikely jailbird.