🐶 The Foster Dog Who Fosters Dogs

🐴 The Foster Dog Who Fosters Dogs

🧭 How Pets Find Their Way Home

🐈‍⬛ Town Devotes Statue to Local Cat

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🐶 The Foster Dog Who Fosters Dogs
 

• Chalupa is a foster dog who showed a unique ability to care for weak, anxious, and small animals. She’s able to co-parent foster animals with her mom, and the two of them have worked with 173 animals together.

• It all started when Chalupa saw a lost baby bunny on a walk, and she made it feel extremely comfortable. Then there were dozens of puppies, kittens, and other animals that came in and out of their home through the foster system.

• Chalupa has been incredibly sweet with each and every one, and she has done a great deal to change the minds of people who might have been afraid of Chalupa based on her breed.

 Weekly Learning 📖 🐾

This Week’s Video: Our Interview with a Dog Owner Who Saved Her Pup in The Nick of Time

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Community Crowdfunds Statue for Local Cat

• 🐾 A beloved beach cat named Hendrix—known for charming visitors at cafes and arcades in Saltburn, England—was so adored that the local community crowdfunded a bronze statue in his honor after his passing.

• 🧒 Children, tourists, and locals alike say Hendrix brought unexpected joy and comfort, often appearing beside people when they needed it most—“like magic,” said one local.

• 🎉 Over 150 people attended the statue’s unveiling, celebrating a cat who became a local legend and social media star, now forever immortalized on Saltburn’s seaside promenade.

How Do Lost Pets Return…On Their Own?

If your dog ran off today, how far do you think they could go?

Would they find their way back?

It might sound like the setup to a Disney movie (Did you know Homeward Bound was based on a true story?), but real-life stories of pets returning from the brink—days, months, even years later—are surprisingly common.

And what makes them even more incredible? Many of these animals navigate hundreds of miles across unfamiliar terrain… with no map, no phone, and no help.

So how do they do it?

🐶 Meet Bobbie, the Wonder Dog

(We’ve discussed Bobbie before, so bare with us while we summarize his story for our new subscribers) In 1923, a collie-mix named Bobbie got lost during a family trip to Indiana. Six months later, he showed up on their doorstep in Oregon—having walked 2,500 miles across rivers, mountains, and snow.

He was covered in ice, his paws were raw, but he was alive… and home.

Scientists have been trying to understand how dogs and cats pull off these journeys ever since.

🔬 Is It Magic? Nope—It’s Science (Kind Of)

🧲 Internal Compass Power

In a 2020 study published in eLife, researchers found that dogs often pause and align themselves with the Earth’s magnetic field before choosing a path—suggesting they may be using magnetic orientation to navigate. It’s like having a built-in compass 🧭.

Even more fascinating? Dogs allowed to wander out of sight in the forest could return using a shortcut—something they couldn’t have done with scent alone.

👃 The Nose Knows (For Real)

Dogs have up to 300 million scent receptors (we have 5 million), and they can detect scent trails that are days or even weeks old. A study from Auburn University showed that dogs could follow a scent across several miles—even after rain.

There are stories of dogs traveling 50+ miles just by tracking their own family's scent—even when those families moved.

Cats, too, leave scent markers and often retrace familiar routes. One cat named Sugar fell out of a car window while moving cross-country… and showed up at the new home, 1,500 miles away, a year later.🏺 Fun fact: One Roman tombstone reads, "To Helena, foster child, the soul without comparison and deserving of love." Helena was a dog.

💓 Love Leads the Way

Research shows that pets form deep emotional bonds with their humans—not just out of habit, but with true attachment. That connection, plus their keen sense of time and rhythm, may help them know when something is wrong… and where they need to be.

It’s not just instinct. It’s devotion.

🐾 The Bottom Line

From magnetism to memory to the mighty power of love, our pets are capable of extraordinary things.

Still, the best way to get a lost pet home fast? A microchip, an ID tag, and a caring community. But never doubt—if there’s a way back, your furry best friend is going to try and find it.

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The Best Friend Who We Nearly Lost

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This Week’s Key Pet News

Miracle Cat Survives National Park Fall

• 🐱 Survivor Against the Odds: After falling 380 feet off a Bryce Canyon cliff, 12-year-old cat Mira was found alive in a soft carrier—earning the nickname “Mirage” for her almost-unbelievable survival.

• 🚁 Rescued and Adopted by Her Hero: The helicopter pilot who first airlifted Mira to safety fell in love with her and later adopted her, giving her a new name and a new forever home.

• 💛 Now Thriving and Cherished: After recovering from a collapsed lung and cracked ribs, Mira is now healthy, kneading biscuits, and soaking up affection in a home where she’s “very, very cherished.”

Dog Returns Home After Being Lost in 2021

• 🐕 Romeo Returns Home After 4 Years: Lost since 2021, Romeo was finally reunited with his original family after they recognized his signature smile in a Facebook post from a local shelter.

• 💛 A Joyful, Emotional Reunion: Once withdrawn and mopey at the shelter, Romeo lit up the moment he saw his mom again—proving that pets do remember the people who love them.

• 🏡 Now Living His Best Senior Life: Romeo is back where he belongs, showered with love from the Boyd sisters and thriving in the comfort of home, years after they thought he was lost forever.

Telehealth Can Significantly Help Cats in Chronic Pain

• 🌍 From Stray to World Explorer: Butch, a once flea-ridden street dog, was rescued by a woman who never liked dogs—and is now her travel companion across 100+ countries, from the Americas to Europe.

• 🚴‍♀️ A Bond Forged on the Road: Whether it’s motorbiking through Mexico, canoeing in New York, or tuk-tuk-ing through Chile, Heike and Butch do it all together—proving that adventure is better with a four-legged best friend.

• 🐾 Proof That Love Can Change Everything: What began as hesitation turned into an unbreakable bond. Butch now lives the ultimate dog dream—free, loved, and exploring the world one pawstep at a time.