But despite thinking about all different possibilities, including that the beloved Labrador had been stolen or eaten by a lion, Samantha Squires could never have imagined what really happened to him.
Six months after Buster Brown vanished from his home in Boulder he was found – an astonishing 1,200 miles away in Salinas, California.
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Astonishing: Buster Brown made it all the way to California
‘I have no idea how he would have made it to Salinas,’ said Mrs Squires. ‘I’ve never even heard of it before.’
Mrs Squires had given up hope of ever seeing her doggy best friend, when she received a letter in the post from an animal shelter.
The animal lovers had called all the phone numbers listed for the dog, but they were all disconnected.
In a final bid to find his owner, they had written the letter to his last known address to say that they had until May 31 to contact the shelter or the dog would be placed up for adoption.Late in the afternoon on May 31, a tearful Samantha Squires rang the centre to say that she was his owner.
Buster and Mrs Squires were reunited after he was flown back from San Francisco to Denver.
No one knows how the adventurous dog made his way 1,200 across the country.
Cindy Burnham at the animal shelter said they had, ‘no idea how he got here’.
He’s the only one who knows. We’re asking him but he’s not telling us.’
A delighted Mrs Squires said that Buster ‘looks quite a lot older and quite a lot fatter’.
She said she is overjoyed to be reunited with her canine companion.
‘He was with me 24/7,’ she told local station KION 46. ‘He slept with me, ate with me, we ran together, everything.’
