On July 12, Cleo, a four-year-old Golden Labrador from the town of Olathe, went missing.
A few days later, Cleo was found sitting comfortably on her previous home’s front porch — in an entirely different state, about 60 miles away.
Colton Michael and his wife Britney moved into the Lawson, Missouri, almost two years ago. One day, they came home to find Cleo on the front porch. Britney was initially curious asking where did the dog come from.
At first, the pooch wouldn’t let the couple come near her. “She finds her way home, and there are some strangers living in it. That would be scary for anybody,” Colton told KMBC.
Eventually, after Cleo became less anxious, Colton and Britney had her scanned for a microchip, hoping they’d be able to find her family’s information. And with luck, it revealed Drew’s name, the owner, and previous occupant of the house.
“That’s the people that used to live here,” Britney said.
When Drew received the call, he was ‘kind of speechless’, struggling to believe that Cleo had managed to walk all that way unharmed.
“It’s the most bizarre story. Really, she’s everything to us and to my mother.” Drew said.
From door to door, Cleo walked an unbelievable 57 miles, and as Colton pointed out, ‘that’s a hike for anybody’, never mind a dog.
Somehow, Cleo made it all the way to her trusty porch, probably having crossed busy roads and a river along the way.
As for how his dog managed such a journey, Drew said it’s a ‘mystery, something we will probably never know’.
What’s important is that she’s back where belongs, safe and sound, and equipped with more life experience than most pets could ever manage.
“It just feels really good to be reunited with her,” Drew said.