Hiker does detective work to reunite lost dog with loving family

Imgur user hrousr proves that rescuing a dog doesn’t always mean nursing it back to health or adopting it. Sometimes, it’s as simple as taking the time to figure out who the loving family is that lost it!

Video: Reunion of Momma and Puppies at the Marin Humane Society

As she was driving in the countryside to take a hike in the Utah mountains, this college student met an unexpected friend.

There was a beautiful, fluffy Golden Retriever–whom she affectionately refers to as a “floof”– sitting on the side of the road.

“She was by a cattle looking gate that looked like it lead to someone’s house in the distance,” the poster wrote on Imgur.

“She began to follow my car as I passed so I pulled over and got out to pet her. She was a really friendly pup and tackled me and slobbed all over my face multiple times.”

The dog stood next to the hiker’s car, blocking the door when she tried to get back in. But she assumed that the Golden belonged to the house beyond the gate. Not wanting her to stray too far from home, she tossed some carrot sticks she’d brought for a snack to distract the dog while she continued on her way.

Video: Mother dog reunited with puppies after being separated at birth

“I distracted the golden floof with carrots.”

But when the hiker continued toward her destination, she looked back and saw a pitiful sight.

Video: Kat Albrecht, Pet Detective

“I felt absolutely awful when I saw her in my rear view mirror because she started to run after my car once she was done with the carrots, but had realized I had left. My heart broke when I saw her slow down and she just sat in the middle of the road staring at my car as I drove away.”

When the Imgur user drove back by an hour later, the Golden girl was still there, as if she was waiting for her friend to return. That’s when she realized that the dog may not belong to the nearby house, after all.

The hiker figured that the dog, who loved attention and was in good shape, must belong to a loving family who had lost her. She inspected the pup’s tags and discovered that she was registered, then called the accompanying phone number. The hiker learned that the dog lived somewhere in the area, and they were going to try to contact the owners.

“I couldn’t bear to leave her again so I just decided to chill with her until I got a call back.”

As they waited, it became apparent that this poor dog was incredibly hungry! Luckily, this healthy hiker had packed some snacks that were safe for pup consumption!

“While sitting on me she saw that I had some rice cakes in the passenger seat and reached over and started snarfing through the package!”

“Eating the rest of the rice cake crumbs she spewed all over.”

Finally, they received a phone call from the dog’s relieved owner.

“She went on to tell me about how their family had lost their young pup 3 WEEKS ago and still had no sign of her, ultimately thinking she had passed away. She also told me about how they had an older dog who was best friends with this younger pup and since this one had gotten lost, the older one began to show symptoms of depression and stopped eating,” the hiker wrote.

The dog’s owners–a mom and littler girl–rushed to reunite with their long-lost pup! When they saw each other, EVERYONE was all smiles!

“I have never seen someone so happy.”

“The mother was bawling and the younger girl wrapped her arms around the floof and sobbed with joy. It was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. I’m just glad that I was there at the right time to be able to help someone get their amazing dog back,” she posted.

Said hilarious Imgur commenter bawjaws2000: “Golden Retrieved.”

Hooray for happy endings! Thanks to Imgur user hrousr for doing the right thing by locating this dog’s rightful owners. Good thing for ID tags, and although they didn’t need to scan for a microchip, here’s another example of why your dog should have one!

Original story: hrousr via Imgur.

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