If Disney is looking for a sequel to Homeward Bound, this is it: An 8-year-old Shar Pei mix named Georgia trekked through 35 miles of California canyons and suburbs to return home through the backyard doggy door after having been missing for nine days, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Georgia got lost while chasing a rabbit in Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve in late June. Due to a high number of coyotes in the region, rangers told her owner, Kris Anderson, that the 30-pound dog likely wouldn't survive even a night.
However, at 8:30 a.m. over a week after she went missing, Georgia unexpectedly ran into Anderson's room and jumped on the bed. The dog was emaciated, covered in scratches, and in need of a good bath — but she somehow walked at least 35 miles home from the park, braving a storm, Fourth of July fireworks, traffic, and maybe even a coyote or two.
How animals find their way home after getting lost is a bit of a scientific mystery: In 1920, Bobbie the dog walked from Oregon to Indiana to get home, and in 2013, a Florida cat walked 200 miles home, to West Palm Beach from Daytona. Some scientists have found evidence that mammals can construct mental maps, similar to the way a rat finds its way out of a maze.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
We may never know how Georgia did it — it's just all the more reason to wish animals could talk.
-
China and Taiwan's war of words ahead of anniversary paradeUnder The Radar Neighbours both claim to have led the fighting during World War Two
-
Epstein files: Maxwell courts a pardonFeature A new prison transcript shows Ghislaine Maxwell praising Trump as 'a gentleman' while denying his involvement in the Epstein scandal
-
Pentagon readies military deployment in ChicagoFeature The Pentagon is preparing to deploy thousands of Illinois National Guard members to Chicago after Trump threatened to send troops into other major cities
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
