The entire time her 8-year-old dog Georgia was lost, Kris Anderson of Carlsbad, California kept Georgia on her mind.
Anderson was hiking with her daughter Sarah Lucas, Georgia and her other dog in the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve on June 27 when Georgia spotted a rabbit and chased after it, disappearing into the canyon.
With the help of the park's rangers, the family searched for hours for the lost dog, but was forced to leave without her, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
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The family refused to give up on finding Georgia, making several trips to the park, a 75-mile round trip. Unfortunately, their search efforts were unsuccessful.
But on July 6, Anderson recognized the familiar sound of her doggy door while she lay in her bed. Her faithful dog Georgia, exhausted, scraped and nearly starving came into her room and jumped on her bed.
The dog had survived the 35-mile journey home, avoiding the canyon's coyote population, traffic and every dog's worst nightmare: Fourth of July fireworks.
"I couldn’t believe it," Anderson said to the San Diego Union-Tribune. "I was thinking ‘what?’ ‘How could this be?’ ‘Am I dreaming or is this really happening?’”
Veterinarian Luis Lizarraga, who examined Georgia a few hours after she stumbled home, said that Georgia was in surprisingly great shape considering the journey that she endured.
“I’ve heard of dogs doing things like this, but I’ve never seen it before, said Lizarraga. "She’s very lucky, absolutely.”
And it's not only dogs that have found their way home after being separated from their family. In December, a cat made its way home across France in a 700-mile journey.