PHOTO — Missing Dog Treks 166 Miles Across Sea Ice While Suffering Bite Wounds: ‘One Heck of a Story’

When a woman in Alaska lost her beloved dog, all hope seemed lost, but then the incredible happened.

In March, Mandy Iworrigan of Gambell, a city that is located on St. Lawrence Island, was visiting Savoonga along with her children when two of their three dogs, whose names are Starlight and Nanuq, and her uncle’s dog, Ghost, went missing from their home, the Anchorage Daily News reported Wednesday.

Everyone searched for the animals, but they were nowhere to be found. However, Ghost apparently wanders off sometimes and always finds his way home.

Starlight eventually showed up in Savoonga once she traveled for miles after going missing nearly three weeks before.

However, Nanuq, the Australian Shepherd who belongs to Iworrigan’s little girl, did not reappear, and the family continued searching for him before returning home.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) describes the Australian Shepherd breed as smart, work-oriented, and exuberant, adding they are “lean, tough” ranching dogs.

Nanuq later proved to have all of those traits and more.

A week after they returned home, the family heard Nanuq may have traveled far away from Savoonga, and Iworrigan said her father told her “There’s a dog that looks like Nanuq in Wales.”

The town is 166 miles from Gambell and a straight shot over plates of sea ice. Residents shared images online of a dog whose owner was a mystery.

When Iworrigan checked her Facebook account, she realized the photos were of their beloved pet. However, it was unknown how he got to Wales.

“Maybe the ice shifted while he was hunting. I’m pretty sure he ate leftovers of seal or caught a seal. Probably birds, too. He eats our Native foods. He’s smart,” she explained.

A family in the area cared for Nanuq until his family was able to transport him back home after being gone for about a month.

In a social media post on Tuesday, Iworrigan shared a photo of Nanuq who appeared happy to be with his family again:

The dog is recovering after initially having a swollen leg with two large bite marks from an unknown creature.

“If dogs could talk, both of them would have one heck of a story,” Iworrigan told reporters.

Meanwhile, social media users expressed their relief the dog finally returned, one person writing, “Such a cool story! Crazy he traveled that far! Glad he made it home to his family!”

“Famous Nanuq!” another person commented.