Rescue Dog Escapes New Owners And Walks 40 Miles Back To Old Home That Gave Up On Him

A rescue dog took his opportunity to make a break for it from his new owners and walked 40 miles back to his former home.

Cooper, an adorable Golden Retriever, is a rescue dog who ran away from his new owners to walk back to his old owner's home.

Cooper was missing for almost a month and later it was learned that the poor dog walked almost 40 miles after spending just a few hours in his new home in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

Reportedly, his previous owners were no longer to provide care for him and had to give up on him. This is when another family adopted Cooper wholeheartedly so that he could spend the rest of his life with another four-legged friend named Molly.

Described as being ‘extremely timid in a new environment’ by missing pets charity Lost Paws NI, Cooper managed to slip away, which is when his film-worthy adventure started.

The pooch was on the run for 25 days and managed to somehow evade capture and survive by himself.

The charity states that the dog must have walked 40 miles by himself through the dangerous main roads and dark woods, probably at night time.

Lost Paws NI leapt into action by sharing posts on social media and posters in the area, as well as feeding stations and door-to-door knocks to speak to locals.

In a post updating their followers about Cooper’s wellbeing, the charity shared: “Several farmers reported seeing him, but as he was not posing any risk to his sheep they let him on his way (Thank you so much) - after several days Cooper vanished from where he had been staying and there were no leads or further information for a number of days.”

However, things took a dramatic turn when on Saturday, 22 April the charity received a tip-off that the dog was spotted walking through the fields and was hanging around local properties.

Only five days later they received a call from a member of the public stating that they recognized Cooper and saw the desperate dog running towards his old home.

The charity explained: “We quickly contacted Nigel his new owner and around 20 minutes later a photo arrived in our inbox of a dishevelled but breathing Cooper, something we were absolutely elated to see.

“Cooper crossed main A-roads, forests, fields, country roads all over 27 days to make his way back home from an area he had never been in before. We are absolutely delighted to have been part of his rescue and a story that.”

Cooper embarked on this journey to his old home back moving from the town center of Dungannon to Cookstown to Magherafelt and finally to his hometown, Tobermore.

His new owner Nigel Fleming, a photographer from Dungannon, told BelfastLive: "I'd met Cooper a few days before in the hope he'd be good company for my Golden Retriever, Molly.

"But I was just about to get the dogs out of the car on their leads for their first walk together when Cooper bolted. He literally jumped over Molly, prized the car door open enough to get past me and ran for it.”

Nigel is relieved and happy that Cooper did not meet any harm and is getting adjusted to his new home.

The charity said on Thursday (27 April): “But mainly we would like to thank YOU for your messages, information, posters, support. You are the reason why we exist and why we keep going! A happy family and a happy dog tonight.”

In another dog story, this mother dog proved her love for her child when she led a firefighter to save her trapped puppy.

The heartwarming story went viral on Chinese social media.

The mother dog desperately led the firefighter to her child that was stuck in a small cage.

The pet's owner had called the fire brigade for help, but the worried mother dog dashed out to find the officers upon their arrival to lead them the way and to be sure that her baby will be safe. 

The young pup's head was stuck badly in the cage. The firefighters had to use a plier to open the cage but they failed to do so. Then the officer had to use a heavy-duty bolt cutter to dismantle part of the cage before successfully freeing the pet.

Thankfully the puppy was safe and remained unhurt during the process.