Dog News

Lost Dog Walks 35 Miles Back Home

by Katherine

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Kris Anderson, a 64-year-old woman from southern California, couldn’t believe her eyes when her eight-year-old Shar-Pei mix named Georgia showed up home two days later, after getting lost in the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve. Anderson who feared she would never see her four-legged friend again, was so relieved to see her pet alive and home again.

Georgia resting on her couch. Photo credit: Kris Anderson
Georgia resting on her couch. Photo credit: Kris Anderson

On June 27, 2015, Anderson took Georgia and her other dog, a Chihuahua mix, off leash hiking. This was not the first time the trio had gone hiking, but on this occasion Georgia got lost.

“Half way to the waterfall, I heard the dog barking and it ran off,” Anderson told ABC News. “She gets so focused on critters and it’s hard to pull her away. In the past, she’s run away a couple of times before on walks but she would come back.”

A few hours passed and the pet owner realized Georgia was nowhere around her, and that’s when Anderson feared the pet got lost. Anderson searched the area on her own and then asked park rangers for help. Rangers searched too but feared the dog wouldn’t make it through the night. Mountain lions and coyotes roam the park.

Anderson had no other option but to head back home, 35 miles away, without her dog, but two days later she heard a familiar sound that left her astonished. The sound of the doggy door.

“[Gerogia] hopped on the couch,” Anderson said. “I couldn’t believe she was back. The vet was amazed at her shape. She lost about eight pounds. She had pink gums and was dehydrated.”

Georgia is one smart cookie. Lets just hope on her next hike she stays close to her owner.