After a 150-mile trek across Alaska, a one-year-old dog made it home after a miraculous journey. A one-year-old Australian shepherd named Nanuq belongs to Mandy Iworrigan, who lives in Gambell, Alaska. As Anchorage Daily News reported, Nanuq and Starlight disappeared last month while their family was visiting Savoonga, a city on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.
It seemed her dogs were gone for good. Despite Mandy’s uncle’s assurances that dogs disappear and find their way back every now and then, Starlight turned up three weeks later, but Nanuq had not been found. But then, a dog was spotted in Wales, 150 miles northeast of their home — a dog that looked just like Nanuq. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Mandy’s father texted her about a lost dog that looked similar to Nanuq in Wales. When she checked Facebook, she realized it was Nanuq.
“I was like, ‘No freakin’ way! That’s our dog! What is he doing in Wales?’” That part is still a mystery. Nanuq survived weeks in the tundra, traveling across 150 miles of sea ice. The owner suspects he may have survived by hunting seal and birds. In response to Mandy’s question, she explained, “I don’t know why he ended up in Wales. Perhaps the ice shifted while he was hunting.”
Them dogs from st lawrence island have evolved to a different breed of dawg no joke pic.twitter.com/B4GbcxCFGj
— Nalaġuzruaq 🦭❄️ (@nalaguzruaq) April 7, 2023
Despite all he’s been through, Nanuq appears to be in good health. He has a swollen leg with two large bite marks. It’s not clear what caused the bite marks: maybe a wolverine, seal or small polar bear. The cost of bringing Nanuq home was covered by airline points. There are no direct flights between Wales and St. Lawrence Island, but Nanuq managed to board a charter flight carrying student athletes.
With his remarkable survival skills, Nanuq became a local celebrity after his unlikely journey home. While his owner will never know what her dogs did in the tundra, she knows they must have had quite a story to tell. “They would both have a story to tell if dogs could talk,” she told Anchorage Daily News.
