Dogs are extended members of your family. So, just imagine what it would feel like if your dog suddenly vanished? You’d probably start searching everywhere, knocking on every neighbor’s door, and driving around town in the hopes that you’ll spot your pooch. You would even place signs on every lamp post within a 5-mile radius, and hope that someone will see him or her and give you a ring to tell you that they’ve found your four-legged friend. Well, sometimes, a stranger does find your dog, but he may not necessarily know who it belongs to. That’s what happened to Adam Herbaugh, who was walking his dog, when all of a sudden, he ended up with a third pooch who had traveled a long way.While he was walking towards the local YMCA, Herbaugh heard a jingle and turned around. That’s when he saw a large brown Coonhound with its jingling collar following him. Herbaugh asked the pooch if he’d like to come home with him, and the dog decided to follow him.
It turns out that the chipped dog’s name is Jake, and his family was 2,000 miles away in Phoenix, Arizona. Then the hospital contacted A Darrah Bull Bully Rescue to help them figure out how to assist this lost pooch.
It turns out that Jake had vanished from his family’s yard almost a year and a half ago, and the rescuers wondered how the pooch traveled from Arizona all the way to Pennsylvania. Jake’s original owners didn’t know anyone in Pennsylvania, but the dog might have stowed aboard a truck by accident.
The family had just had a newborn baby and couldn’t take a trip all the way to Pennsylvania to grab their lost dog. So, they asked the rescue if there was any chance that they could get him back to Arizona, and that’s when Metz came up with a plan.
Five days after Jake had been found wandering around, his new adventure began. With a t-shirt that read “Arizona Or Bust,” Jake went on an epic road trip, and over the following four days, Jake met a bunch of interesting people from Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.
It was a long, grueling trip that took almost as many drivers as there were stops. In total, there were 20 different drivers and 30 stops, including three overnight stays. But eventually, Jake was reunited with his original human family.
The volunteers also decided to share photos of their road trip on Facebook, and many thought he was just adorable, especially when he gave them kisses. Metz praised Jake for being well-trained and gentle.
Now that Jake was finally home after his cross-country adventure, he had to get used to the fact that there was a new baby in the family, but his owners will keep a closer eye on him. As for Metz, she pointed out that this reunion was made possible thanks to the oh-so-amazing microchip.
**It was a long road getting from Arizona to Pennsylvania and back again. Check out this video to learn more about Jake the dog’s bold adventure, which ended with the most emotional family reunion ever.**