Dog That Wandered 1,000 Miles Reunites With Overjoyed Owner

Rio, an Australian shepherd, was recently reunited with his owner after the pup took a 1,000-mile journey from Oklahoma to North Carolina. According to ABC News 7, the dog’s owner, Melissa Burris, lives near Tulsa. She called 10-year-old Rio an “escape artist,” and explained that he often wanders off to visit a nearby store or to find adventures. However, this time he didn’t return home as he usually did.

By the time Burris received the call from North Carolina informing her that her dog had been found, Rio had been missing for almost 2 weeks. Once she learned where he was, Burris immediately purchased a plane ticket and headed to pick him up.

“When I got that call that he had been found, I was just floored,” Burris said, per ABC News 7. “I could not believe he had made it all the way to North Carolina.”

The Panic of a Missing Pet

As pet owners know, realizing that a pet has gone missing invokes immediate panic, whether the animal has escaped the house or disappeared through a PetSmart switcharoo. When Burris, who adopted Rio last year, realized her canine companion hadn’t come home, she went out searching for him.

She explained, according to ABC News 7, “I posted in every local group I could find, looking for him, and just kept keeping the search alive.” She was determined to keep hope that Rio was out there and perfectly fine wherever he was.

She, of course, didn’t find him, but a good Samaritan in North Carolina did. They took Rio to a local shelter, and because Burris had Rio microchipped, the shelter had an easier time locating her.

However, per ABC News 7, as Jorge Oretega, the director of the shelter, stated, “It’s a huge mystery on how Rio ended up [getting] from Oklahoma to Greensboro.”

A Mystery That May Never Be Solved

According to reporting by Good Morning America, Burris’s theory on how Rio made it so far is that perhaps a student headed to college or a long-haul trucker picked the pup up from the side of the road at some point.

As Burris said, according to ABC News 7, “We’ll never probably know what he went through over those two weeks, but I’m happy to see the smiles back on his face.”

For now, Burris is happy to have Rio back at home, and the dog is equally excited about his return, a testament to the bond pet parents have with their pets. His owner shared that he is doing fine after his extremely long adventure and has been “all smiles” since they reunited.

One thing Rio’s journey has illustrated is the benefits of microchipping and identifying one’s pets.

According to ABC News 7, Ortega explained, “The most important thing here is always identify your pets, whether that be a collar and tag and a microchip. The great thing about microchips is that they’re a permanent identification system. It’s always there — [just] make sure that the microchip registry is up to date.”

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