Photo: Screenshot from media reports

A dog swept away by river currents miraculously trekked back home all on its own after ten days adrift, domestic media outlet Guangxi Daily reported.

Lu, a resident of Baise in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said that his dog had been carried off by river floodwaters and lost contact with him for nearly ten days.

When his entire family had all but abandoned hope, the dog unexpectedly returned home on its own, having lost so much weight that it was reduced to skin and bones, Guangxi Daily reported.

"The moment I saw it, my dog kept weeping, and so did I. It had actually found its way back," Lu recounted their emotional reunion.

He added the dog had weighed nearly 25 kilograms before the incident, yet just over 10 kilograms upon its return, having lost more than half its body weight, according to the report.

Lu said he had raised the dog for over three years, and that it had always been exceptionally obedient and attuned to human emotions. He said that he could not begin to imagine how much hunger, exhaustion and danger the dog had endured over those 10 days, nor what kind of "willpower" had driven it to find its way home, the report said.

Fearing the weakened dog's body could not tolerate overeating, Lu didn't feed it full meals at once. "I only cooked thin congee and gave it a few slices of meat to boost its strength back gradually," he said.

Some netizens were touched upon hearing the dog's incredible journey home, with many drawing parallels with The Story of Hachikō.


Global Times