A dog that went missing during a hike in San Diego over a week ago has found her way home after traveling more than 35 miles.
Dog owner Kris Anderson says she’s not an emotional person and says neither is her dog, Georgia May, whom she rescued from a shelter seven years ago.
“She’s very reserved,” Anderson said, describing her pooch.
The pair recently shared an emotional moment, however, after Georgia May went missing — and somehow managed to find her way home to Carlsbad after a long, long trek.
On June 27, Anderson says she took her dog on a hike at the Penasquitos Canyon Preserve in San Diego. She admits she ignored a posted sign saying dogs must be leashed at all times, which she said was probably her better judgment, in hindsight.
“I want to say [Georgia May] is half-wild. She’s run off a couple times,” Anderson explained.
Perhaps not so surprisingly, it happened again.
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But this time, Georgia didn't come back, and Anderson says she and a park ranger searched the trail until dark.
“And he said to me, ‘You know, I’m really sorry to say this, but dogs don’t make it through the night [at the Preserve]. It’s too brutal,’” she recounted.
The Penasquitos Canyon Preserve is an area known for coyotes.
Still, Anderson says she went back every day in search of Georgia May, holding out hope for eight days before giving up.
“And in the end, I just thought, ‘A week and a couple days – no one can make it out there,’” she said.
But then, came day nine.
“And I work up and thought, ‘Am I dreaming. Wait,’” said Anderson.
Thirty-five miles from that trail, coming from her kitchen, Anderson heard the doggy door open and close.
“And she jumped up on my bed, just like that. [I said] ‘Georgia! Georgia!’” she added.
Anderson says her beloved canine companion has been lying on the couch, resting, pretty much ever since. She says a veterinarian checked out Georgia May, and said her health is fine.
“She was quite skinny, but she’s gained some weight,” said Anderson.
How Georgia found her way home, we'll probably never know.
“I don't know,” said Anderson. “I would give anything to know the story.”
Well, she says, not quite anything.
“It sounds corny, I know, she's a dog – but to me she's my baby," Anderson told NBC 7. “I never thought I’d see her again, and she’s special to me.”
