The trusty dog that was lured into the forest mysteriously returns after a month and 45 miles
When Zane Brunette took his 6-year-old dog Luigi to Boundary Waters in Minnesota, he thought they would have a fun camping trip together. That was almost a month ago, in June 2022.
The trip turned out to be a nightmare for the dog’s devastated father. Luigi disappeared into the woods, and it remains a mystery what happened to him and why.
Lured away?
At one point, Brunette and Luigi have a sketchy interaction with another group near a popular hiking trail in the area. Brunette then told KARE 11 that he believes people from the trail lured his dog away from him and captured him.
“I think they wanted him,” he said. “I think they’ll keep him.”
Sadly, it seems to serve to Luigi that he is a friendly and trustworthy dog. When Brunette realized Luigi was no longer with her, he said, it was too late.
“I found the top and yelled and I could hear my voice and I knew we wouldn’t find him out there… But I was completely shocked so I kept going. .”
Brunette and his team camp nearby for the next few days, hoping Luigi will reappear. They also make flyers to post around the North Shore area. Friends and family have posted photos of Luigi online.
Sadly, weeks passed without a trace of him.
Luigi’s Mysterious Voyage
29 days have passed. Brunette doesn’t know where her dog is or if it’s safe. Then, hard to believe, on Monday, July 27, the owner of a resort located 45 miles from where Luigi disappeared called Brunette.
Naturally, he had some doubts, but Brunette, of course, went over immediately to confirm.
“I was thinking, if it were him, could I come right away? Then I called him and he came right in my arms and I just picked him up and hugged him.”
It really was Luigi, okay after all this time. He lost about 15 pounds, but amazingly, he was barely hurt (and unmarked).
No one knows for sure where he was or how did he get so far. Brunette still believes that Luigi was stolen in the first place. He thinks that either Luigi escaped from the thieves somehow or they ran into the missing dog owner and panicked, so they dumped him.
Either way, his safe return is a miracle for his father.
Featured pictures: Facebook
