Dog reunited with owner after 160-kilometre adventure across Switzerland

By Jan de Boer

At some point in all our lives, we’ve been driven by a feeling of curiosity and wanderlust - whether it be seeing what’s over the next hill or what countries overseas have to offer. However, this desire to explore seems to not be reserved for humans: a dog has recently reunited with her owners after travelling 160 kilometres across Switzerland in just one night.

14-year-old terrier goes on a Swiss adventure

According to a statement given by the local police, officers found the little dog near a petrol station on the Route de Chancy, Canton Geneva, at 9am on Swiss National Day. A quick scan of the dog's chip revealed that the hound was a 14-year-old border terrier called Lucky.

Geneva cantonal police spokesperson Alexandre Brahier said that a search of the database had revealed that the dog was registered to a family who turned out to be on holiday at the time of Lucky's disappearance. It soon transpired that she had been declared missing on July 31 by friends of the family who were taking care of her while they were away. 

Dog travels through Bern, Fribourg, Vaud and Geneva

What’s more, instead of being a resident of Geneva, or indeed the Romande, the dog’s home was actually in Bern. Therefore, between the evening of July 31 and 9am on August 1, Lucky had completed a near-160-kilometre journey across Canton Bern, Fribourg, Vaud and Geneva before being captured.

After such a long journey - on very, very small legs - Lucky was pictured looking dishevelled and perhaps a little confused as she was picked up and put in the police car. Relatives of the family were soon able to pick Lucky up and take her back to her home in the de facto capital of Switzerland.

It is hoped that this old dog has not added “running 160 kilometres in one night” into its bag of new tricks.

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Jan de Boer

Editor at IamExpat Media

Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016. While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more

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