Sheepdog Journeys 240 Miles to His Old Home
Pero didn't take well to his new farm, so made a 12-day trip back home.
— -- Pero, a real-life “Homeward Bound” dog, traveled over 240 miles from a farmhouse in Cumbria, England, only to return to his old home in Ceredigion, Wales, his latest owners say.
Alan and Shan James, who live on a Welsh farm with about 3,000 sheep and a few sheepdogs, had recently given their 4-year-old pup to an English farmer “who was in need of a sheepdog to work with a motorbike and a smaller flock of sheep,” Shan James said.
The Jameses thought it would be a good opportunity for Pero to show what he could do and put his skills to use, given that he was good at doing similar work on their farm.
But Pero had a different plan.
Pero’s new owner notified the Jameses that he escaped on April 8 when the farmer took him out on the farm. Pero ran across the field and never came back, James said.
The farmer also told her that Pero wasn’t working out well.
Initially, they thought he would return to his new home in Cumbria, but instead he ended up back at the Jameses’ farm 12 days and 240 miles later.
James said that after her husband came in for supper last Wednesday evening, he went back outside and discovered Pero waiting for him.
She described Pero as “being very happy and excited to see him. He was turning circles and jumping up and down.”
Pero had lost a bit of weight and had a limp but, overall, he was in good condition. “He’s a strong dog that survived quite well,” James said.
When asked whether they planned to send him off again, she said, “he can happily stay.”
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