A young dog’s epic trek has made international news after she escaped from a train and hiked 125 miles (200km) through the Siberian wilderness to get back home.
The one-year-old Bull mastiff was on her way back to her original mom and dad after her adoptive owner decided she no longer wanted the dog, claiming she was allergic to her.
Manora (Maru for short) used her paws and opened a compartment door on the train and jumped off at a remote station on route to Novosibirsk. According to the Siberian Times, staff on the train tried to get her back but she disappeared into the woods at night.
Upon hearing the news, Maru’s breeder, Alla, immediately organized a search party and posted Maru’s story on social media to enlist help in finding the dog. She related to the newspaper how Maru had “jumped out of the compartment door, kicked the handle to open it and almost threw the conductor out of the way” before she “jumped out like a bullet.”
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Maru appeared two-and-a-half days later near to where her adoptive owner lives in Krasnoyarsk. The dog had navigated 125 miles along the railway track and would have likely made it “home” if she hadn’t injured her paws on the arduous journey. Alla said she was relieved the dog was not eaten by a wild predator on her trek. Wolves and bears are common in the area.
It is incredible she survived as Alla said Maru suffered from a broken jaw and her paws were “broken” and her pads damaged.
Volunteers told Alla that the dog was “in tears” when she was found.
Mastiffs are a particularly loyal breed, as evidenced by Maru’s actions. “I’m sure she was looking for her house. She did not run to Novosibirsk, she wanted to go back to where she lived,’ Alla said after Maru was found. Maru is now being treated for her injuries and is back with Alla.
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