Missing dog wanders 700 miles from California to Las Cruces

It is a common thing for a pet to wander off and end up in a different neighborhood, but a pup recently appeared in Las Cruces after an astounding 700-mile trip from home in California.

New Mexico State University student Juan Treto remembers walking home when an energetic young Husky suddenly appeared before him.

The dog was friendly and quickly found a home with Treto.

“I thought maybe she was on a vacation or something,” said Treto. “I could tell that she just wanted to be loved.”

Juan spent about six weeks fostering the dog, which he took to calling ‘Annie’.

Juan eventually took Annie to a pet expo to get looked at further.

It was then that specialists discovered that the dog was chipped, allowing Juan to get in contact with the actual owner.

“I think she was more surprised that her dog was in New Mexico,” he said. “She said that she had lost her in Orange County, and had no idea that someone from New Mexico would end up calling her.”

As it turns out the dogs given name is actually ‘Bella’ and has a family near Los Angeles that’s been waiting to get her back.

“I have two daughters, and they have been heartbroken,” said original owner Jessica Smith. “I didn’t think we were ever going to hear about her again. I thought I hope she didn’t get eaten. I was thinking the worst.”

Although the parting is bittersweet for Juan, he is happy to have made a difference and recognized the role he played in helping to reunite the family.