SCAGGSVILLE, Md. (WJZ)— Marathon crasher. The unlikely runner? A family pet who ran away and joined the race.

Weijia Jiang explains the incredible way a dog is raising money for cancer research.

Dozer the dog loves to run and has always been active.

Over the weekend, “active” was an understatement.

“It was really shocking to me,” said Rocco Panza, 10.

You see, Dozer was a last-minute entry to the third annual Maryland Half Marathon.

“I thought ‘No, it can’t be my dog, can’t be Dozer. He can’t run that far,’” said Rosana Dorsett, Dozer’s owner.

The 13-mile route includes the road in front of Dozer’s Scaggsville house.

He charged through the electric fence, and ran eight miles right to the finish line. Organizers assumed he was running with someone. But that’s not Dozer’s style.

“We were like, ‘That dog ran the whole race, by himself?’” said Jon Sevel, Maryland Half Marathon co-founder.

He sure did. And he somehow found his way home too—the next morning.

Dozer’s family was worried, but then they saw pictures of Dozer at the race posted online.

“We saw them, started cracking up, waiting for him to come back,” said Nick Nelligar, owner.

On Thursday, Dozer actually won the K-9 category. The race’s founders gave the goldendoodle a gold medal.

What do you say to people who say, “I can’t run a marathon? I just can’t do that?”

Dozer tells WJZ, you’ll never know unless you try.

Organizers set up this runner’s page for Dozer, who has brought in $1,200 for the University of Maryland Cancer Center so far.

Next year his entire family plans to run the race.