"Polar bear" dog disappears in epic cross-sea adventure – then a text message changes everything

Gambell, Alaska - A dog from Alaska has returned home after an epic adventure. The Australian Shepherd disappeared without a trace for about a month, then inexplicably turned up nearly 150 miles away!

Nanuq the dog had a crazy adventure across the sea in Alaska, although much of it still remains a mystery.
Nanuq the dog had a crazy adventure across the sea in Alaska, although much of it still remains a mystery.  © Collage: Screenshot/Facebook/Mandy Iworrigan

Nanuq the dog's name means "polar bear" in Siberian Yupik – and he certainly proved he can hang with the big guys!

Mandy Iworrigan, Nanuq's owner, told the Guardian that just over a month ago, she and her family visited a community on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Strait of Alaska when both Nanuq and her another four-legged friend named Starlight went missing.

While Starlight returned a few weeks later, Nanuq was nowhere to be found. Then, a text message from Mandy's father changed everything.

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"My dad texted me and said, 'There’s a dog that looks like Nanuq in Wales,'" Iworrigan said, after he had seen posts on Facebook featuring the lost pup.

The kicker: the town of Wales, Alaska is 150 miles across the icy Bering Sea!

Her daughter then reactivated her Facebook account to take a look, and was shocked to see her missing pet.

"I was like, 'No freakin’ way! That’s our dog! What is he doing in Wales?'" she said.

Nanuq's journey to get there is certainly a wild mystery.

Dog from Alaska makes epic journey home

Mandy's dog was brought back to Alaska by a charter plane and joyfully reunited with his family.
Mandy's dog was brought back to Alaska by a charter plane and joyfully reunited with his family.  © Collage: Screenshot/Facebook/Mandy Iworrigan

How could the dog make such a long journey solo?

"I have no idea why he ended up in Wales. Maybe the ice shifted while he was hunting," Iworrigan guessed.

She also suspects the pup fed on local animals, possibly eating the remains of seals or even birds in order to survive.

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"I’m pretty sure he ate leftovers of seal or caught a seal," she said.

When he arrived home on a regional charter flight, the dog was in good health, except for a swollen leg from large bite wounds.

Mandy shared the emotional reunion between the dog and her family in a video on Facebook.

"Holy cow!" she screamed as her dog's plane landed on the runway after the epic journey.

Cover photo: Collage: Screenshot/Facebook/Mandy Iworrigan

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