Adventurous Pets Who Traveled Long Distances to Get Home

There are pets who traveled long distances to get back home and sooner or later, if you own pets long enough, one is likely to get lost. For reasons only the pet knows, some don't like their new home or new owners. People get sick and have to go to the hospital or a new job forces a family to relocate. It's not always possible to take a pet and other arrangements have to be made. Home is where the heart is for these pets and they will walk 1,000 miles to return to the place they think of as home. Pets who traveled long distances to get home didn't let a couple hundred miles or more stop them from their quest of getting back home. How they do it, no one knows. In the long run, the how doesn't really matter as long as they make it safely home. Some amazing stories of adventurous pets who traveled long distances to get home.

Emily the cat. How on earth could a cat in the United States end up in France? That certainly gives new meaning to pets who traveled long distances to get home. Emily lived with her family in Appleton, Wisconsin. Her overseas journey started when the one year-old curious cat was checking out the contents loaded on a truck headed for Chicago and she was accidentally locked in. From there, she went on a long boat ride that ended in Belgium and then on to France where Emily was finally discovered by workers at a laminating plant. Parched and very hungry after her long 4, 500 mile ordeal, Emily's tags told the tale of her international adventure. Her family was contacted back in Wisconsin and they were happy and shocked to hear from someone in France saying they had their cat. Her return trip home was much faster thanks to Continental airlines who flew her back to her surprised and relieved owners.

Howie, the proud Persian cat. 1,000 miles of Australian outback was no match for this feisty feline. The Hicks family had planned to go on an extended overseas vacation. They figured Howie would be well cared for with family who lived 1,000 miles away. Returning home several months later, they were sadly informed Howie had run away. This pet who traveled long distances to get home had to be on his toes in the hostile Australian outback. He was a house cat who had never even met a dog and the only thing he'd ever hunted were flies buzzing around inside his home. Danger for this spunky house cat was around every corner and he would have to use all of his feline skills to survive. It took him a full year to cross the outback, but Howie surprised everyone when day when he finally showed up at home. His fur was dirty and scraggly, he had an injured paw and was extremely hungry and thirsty. Howie showed his devotion to his family by braving and somehow surviving in a dangerous land on his own where many humans have a hard time surviving.

Troubles. In the late 1960's in South Vietnam's war zone, Troubles and William Richardson, his handler, were dropped in the jungle via helicopter. Unfortunately, during the Vietnam war, dogs used in the war effort weren't always treated like the soldiers they were. Richardson was wounded and taken to a hospital and Troubles was abandoned by Richardson's unit. Troubles traveled a long distance to get home because he was more loyal to one human than the other humans were to him. In the jungle, one mile is a long way and the dog had to travel 10 long and dangerous miles to get back home. He managed to find his way out after 3 weeks and walked into camp headquarters and his home. He refused to let anyone near him and began searching tents for William Richardson. When he couldn't find his friend, he took the next best thing and the soldiers finally found Troubles sleeping in a pile of clothes that belonged to Richardson.

Misele lived on a farm in France with her owner, 82 year-old Alfonse Mondry. Some pets will do anything for their owners and when Alfonse became ill and had to go to the hospital, Misele didn't hesitate to go in search of her friend. Her travels were only 9 miles, but she had to cross through cattle pastures, rock quarries, busy highways and forests to get to her final destination. The amazing thing about Misele's journey is she had never been to the town or hospital where Alfonse was taken. How she found him is still a mystery to this day. When the nurses came in to check on their patient, they found Misele curled up on Alfonse's legs purring and quite pleased with herself. No one had the heart to separate the two of them, so Misele stayed with Alfonse.

Researchers are still trying to figure out exactly how pets who traveled long distances to get home were able to accomplish their task. Wolves and other wild animals have to have the ability to travel long distances in search of food and still be able to find their way home. It's possible dogs and cats have a sort of homing gene, but that wouldn't explain how a pet finds their way to a family who moved from their old home to a new home hundreds of miles or more away. It certainly is incredible, but it's still a mystery.

It's thought pets can make mental maps in their minds, can see obstacles in their way and can see the layout of the land they find themselves in. We know how pets use their incredible sense of smell and hearing to find food and water. It's possible pets have super paramagnetic particles in their brain that aids them in direction when honing in on their home, but so far, researchers have not been able to determine if it's true.

Pets who traveled long distances to get home had some luck associated with their survival, but you have to admire them for having the spirit and fortitude to do what they needed to do to find the humans in their lives who meant so much to them.

6 Pets That Traveled Long Distances to Get Home, HowStuffWorks.com

Dr. Nicholas Dodman, Homing Behavior in Dogs and Cats, PetPlace.com