Long Lost Dogs

In a broad generalist sense the three most common reasons that dogs become separated from their families include: opportunistic journeys, simple wanderlust, or blind panic.

An opportunistic journey by your dog often occurs when a gate or door is inadvertently left open. Only a select few dogs will remain in their yards or at their homes in such cases; the fact is that most dogs simply can’t resist the temptation to explore when given the opportunity. In this instance your dog might not actively “plan” to leave home, but their noses just lead them on an expedition that will often take them blocks or even miles away from their abode.

Wanderlust is a common problem especially with male dogs of any breed. These dogs will vigorously attempt to escape by climbing, digging, or wiggling to escape confinement areas; dogs inflected with this trait are sure to become “lost dogs” especially if allowed to “roam free” in the back yard for example.  They will also bolt out a door or pull to get away from their handler every time the opportunity presents itself.

Blind panic is a situation in which the “flight” instinct (from the hardwired “fight or flight” response to stimuli) kicks in and a dog quickly determines that running is the best option, yep, this is really a “reaction” that’s commonly call blind panic. This often happens for one of three reasons: xenophobic (skittish) temperament, loud noises like thunder & gunfire, or a traumatic incident like being involved in an automobile accident. Such dogs are difficult to catch since they will travel far and fast, and avoid human contact, even with their own masters!

Regardless of the character type your lost critter may possess, for many people pets become cherished members of the family, so when they are lost it can be very stressful indeed since tragic endings are not uncommon. Much too often, after searching nearly everywhere, posting / fliers on every corner and after checking all the local shelters families are forced to give up hope of ever seeing their furry, friend again and conclude the worst has happened to’ em out there in the mean ol’ world, alone and on their own. However, in some rare cases, the will of the lost dog to return to its family is too strong to give up, and against all odds, they somehow find their way home no matter what it takes. Call it luck, willpower, the power of love, or a mix of all three; here’s a few inspiring examples of happy reunions of lost dogs and their families in a just a few parts of the world.

If there’s any breed of dog that would be able to find its way home over rugged terrain and great distances, it would be the Siberian husky. The only other dog that could come close is undoubtedly, Muttley from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Wacky Races, but then he travels about in a race-car, making it an argumentative issue. Beyond making that precarious point, there are many critics of Moon the dog’s greatness, who insist that the only way Moon could possibly have found her way home to Ely, Nevada must have been to hitchhike. Their speculation stems from the well documented fact that Moon traveled no less than 77 miles to find her way home to Doug Dashiell, her owner. Dashiell had taken his three dogs on a trip and on the way back, at Railroad Valley, Nevada he briefly let them out of his truck to stretch their legs and make pee-pee when Moon simply took-off like “a-bird-with-a-jet-in-her-butt”, as Dad used to say. After hours of fruitless searching, Dashiell was sure he would never see Moon again. 

Dashiell was wrong. Amazingly, the dog managed to travel the distance back to Ely. The dog crossed desert, the White River, and the Ward Mountain ranges. Dashiell hypothesizes that she survived for the week she was missing by feasting on rabbits. 

Max the Airedale Terrier amazingly managed to travel a rather large distance to return to his loving owner, crossing harsh terrain and managing to not get eaten by predators.  Two-year-old Max was lost when his owner’s convertible was involved in an accident in Sterling, Connecticut. When Bill Clark’s car was struck by another vehicle, in a moment of panic Max dashed from the back seat of the car, across the trunk, and off into the woods. After returning home to Coventry, Rhode Island, Clark launched a search campaign for the dog that spanned weeks, without success. As fate would have it, every desperate lead, from friend or stranger, lead to a dead end. 

Then, one Tuesday, Clark returned from work to find Max sitting in his back yard, having found his way home from almost 50 miles away. Upon examination by a vet Max was discovered to have no injuries whatsoever, and the only mark of his nearly month-long journey was a weight loss of 11 pounds.

3 December 2011  . . . Must have been an incredible journey, with all the makings of a holiday blockbuster.  But you’ve gotta wonder if this pouch was lost or simply running away. Petunia the dog went missing from Virginia and reappeared eight years later and 3000 miles away in California, but we’ll probably never know how or why she made the voyage.

“She was very thirsty and very hungry when I found her,” said Meg Eden when interviewed by CBS channel 13. Ms. Eden went on to say “I’m just happy she took the right fork in the road and found me.” 

Ms. Eden looked after the dog overnight then took the dog to animal welfare officials who straight away scanned the pet for a microchip; staff members were amazed to find she was registered, as an American Staffordshire terrier, to a clinic in the state of Virginia.

The Virginia clinic made contact with the dog’s owner, Kristen Pruitt of Fredericksburg, Virginia (49 miles {79 km} south of Washington, D.C.), who confirmed that her family dog, Petunia, went missing in 2003. She also recognized Petunia from photographs.

Finally, the account of Prince’s unbelievable journey isn’t just the oldest story found here; it’s also the most mysterious.  It goes something like this: James Brown (no relation to the late Godfather of Soul) was a private in the First North Staffordshire Infantry Regiment of the British Army during WWI in 1914, left his wife back in Staffordshire, England with their Terrier, Prince.  He traveled to France to fight on the front at the outbreak of war with Germany. Several months later on September 27^th of the same year, Brown’s wife sent him a telegram telling him that their beloved Prince had gone missing. 

Private Brown wasn’t too awfully surprised upon receiving the telegram, in light of the fact that Prince had already joined him in the trenches, apparently ready to take on the Germans, though it’s not too difficult to determine how well an Irish terrier would do if pitted against a German shepherd. Prince’s story is one of the most baffling examples of animal travel we’ve found. In order to find his way to Brown, he had to cross the English Channel, a formidable milestone in and of its self by anyone’s standard. Never-the-less, Prince’s story remains shrouded in mystery, primarily because of the lack of reliable reporting at the time it occurred. If the story is wholly true, it may stand as the most amazing dog journey in history.

Sources:                                                                                                                              http://www.missingpetpartnership.org/recovery-lostdog.php

http://brainz.org/15-pets-who-returned-home-remarkable-distances/                            http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2069671/An-incredible-journey-Long-lost-dog-reappears-years-later-3-000-miles-away-home.html

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