In Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland, a Golden Retriever named Cooper was surrendered to a shelter alongside his brother George by their previous owners, who could no longer care for them. Cooper was soon adopted by a new family, but it wasn’t long before he made a daring escape.

After a successful meeting with molly, I got all the arrangements sorted, and cooper’s microchip was transferred to my name. I paid his rehoming fee, and we went home for a new start. But I was just about to get the dogs out of the car on their leads for their first walk together when cooper bolted. He literally jumped over holly, pried the car door open enough to get past me and ran for it.

Shortly after being introduced to his new canine companion, Molly, Cooper dashed out of the car and disappeared. For nearly a month, Cooper was missing, and it is believed that he traveled over 40 miles to return to his former home.

According to Belfast Live, Lost Paws Northern Ireland speculate that Cooper journeyed through woods and main roads to reach his destination. It’s unclear how he found food, but the resourceful dog managed to avoid humans and likely slept in hidden, soft spots for brief periods of rest.

Experts are baffled by whether Cooper missed his former home or his bonded brother George, but it’s evident that his remarkable sense of smell played a significant role in guiding him back. During his journey, groups of animal lovers attempted to locate Cooper as he passed through various towns and sheep fields.

That was on april 1 with the help of a lot of people, I finally got him back today, april 26. I was determined not to give up on him and with the help of lost paws ni, co-ordinated searches, sightings, social media and sheer determination got us there in the end.

Today we received a call from a member of the public stating that he recognized cooper from our posts and that he had seen him running towards his old property (25 miles as the crow flies) and was certain it was him. We quickly contacted nigel his new owner and around 20 minutes later a photo arrived in our inbox of a disheveled but breathing cooper, something we were absolutely elated to see. Cooper crossed main a roads,

Although Cooper is currently thin, he is now being fed to gradually regain weight. He is resting and rebuilding his strength, and according to his new owner’s Facebook page, the sweet dog is settling in and hopefully enjoying his new life.