Lost Puppy Recognizes Vet’s Office — Waits There For Help To Make It Home

Aug 21, 2021

Last summer, a little black puppy got lost in the middle of Bangkok, Thailand, a city with a population of over 9 million. The odds were certainly not in this little dog’s favor, especially since he was just 4-5 months old. With that said, animals are capable of amazing things, and the sweet pup in this story is no exception.

As surveillance footage shows, this black puppy was actually able to find his way back to the Putahracsa Veterinary Clinic, where he has been going since he was just 1 month old. Once at the clinic, he waited outside the front door while trying to get the vet staff’s attention. The video shows the lost dog pacing and sitting in front of the clinic for around four minutes, waiting for someone to let him in. While the video doesn’t have sound, the dog also appears to bark at the workers inside. Finally, he gets the attention of a staff member who lets him into the clinic.

The clinic posted the video alongside this clever dog’s story on their Facebook page on July 7, 2020. Since then, the post has gone viral, accumulating more than 16,000 likes, 950 comments and an astounding 1 million views. Outlets like The Dodo have also picked up the story, which has inspired viewers from all over the world to comment on how astounded they are with this creature’s intelligence. Read on to find out how dogs like this one are able to find their way home — even in a massive city like Bangkok. 

“This dog is so intelligent and just beautiful!!! Thank you for letting him in to the office, he was trying so hard to tell the girl inside, he needed help! We must learn to watch & listen to dogs, they are very smart. I knew right away the dog was asking for help,” Melissa Ford wrote on Facebook.

Others who have heard of this dog’s incredible journey have commented that they have had similar experiences.

“My neighbor's dog gets loose sometimes & will track a scent for miles, then when exhausted will sit outside the nearest house begging for them to take him home. The longest I think so far is 7 miles,” a viewer wrote on YouTube.

According to a piece in The New York Times’ “Science Times” section, it’s not uncommon for dogs to find their way home, as they have a keen sense of smell. “The theory is that a dog creates a map of scents from odiferous sites like a food store or fertilized garden — or even just a hint of an owner’s scent in the ground or air,” C. Claiborne Ray writes for The Times.

Referencing a study in which researchers used MRI imaging to study dogs’ brains and their sense of smell, Ray explains that dogs are particularly attracted to the smell of a familiar person. In this case, the lost dog might have smelled someone he recognized at the vet’s office.

What’s more, dogs might also use electromagnetic fields to find their bearings. In a study published in Frontiers of Zoology, researchers found that dogs are sensitive to “small variations in the Earth’s magnetic field.”

Watch this clever dog as he gets the vet staff's attention in the video below from 2:54.

Have you ever had a lost pet that found its way home? How do you think this dog found his way to the vet’s office? Let us know — and be sure to pass this inspiring story on to other pet owners.