Missing one-year-old Australian Shepherd makes epic 150-mile journey across frozen Bering Sea ice before being returned to family in Alaska with mysterious bite wound
- Mandy Iworrigan and her family were reunited with their Australian Shepherd weeks after he disappeared while traveling in March
- Iworrigan had taken her pup, Nanuq, on a trip to Savoogna, Alaska, about 40 miles from their home, when he went missing
- After returning home, Iworrigan was alerted via a Facebook post that her pup had traveled 150 miles across an icy sea to Wales, Alaska.
A one-year-old Australian Shepherd made an epic 150-mile journey through Alaska’s icy terrain before returning to his family with an unknown bite wound to his leg.
Nanuq, which is Siberian Yupik for polar bear, was visiting the St. Lawrence Island town of Savoogna with his owners in March when he disappeared along with another pup, Starlight, according to his dog mom, Mandy Iworrigan.
Starlight eventually returned to the family about two weeks later, but Nanuq was nowhere to be seen. The family traveled back to Gambell, 37 miles north of Savoogna, believing their beloved Nanuq was gone forever.
It wasn’t until another family member shared a Facebook photo of a missing dog resembling Nanuq that Iworrigan knew her pup had somehow crossed the frozen Bering Sea and made a 100-mile journey north to Wales.
Iworrigan filmed the heartwarming reunion between the pup and her daughter on April 6.
Mandy Iworrigan and her family were reunited with their Australian Shepherd weeks after he disappeared while they were traveling in March. Pictured: Nanuq, center, with his family
Iworrigan had taken her pup, Nanuq, on a trip to Savoogna, Alaska, about 40 miles from their home, when he went missing
Iworrigan remembered the moment she knew Nanuq was alive.
“My dad texted me and said, ‘There’s a dog that looks like Nanuq in Wales,'” she told CBS.
She quickly checked Facebook and immediately knew the lost pup was Nanuq. Iworrigan was in disbelief that the Australian Shepherd had made it this far in freezing temperatures.
‘I have no idea why he ended up in Wales. Maybe the ice shifted while he was hunting,’ she said.
“I’m pretty sure he ate leftover seals or caught a seal. Probably birds too. He eats our native food. He is smart.’
In no time, Iworrigan paid for her dog to take a direct flight from Wales to Gambell.
She filmed herself and her daughter awaiting the landing of the regional jet carrying Nanuq on April 6.
The nearly 12 minute video ends with Iworrigan’s daughter screaming with joy and greeting Nanuq along with their other dog, Starlight.
“Sounds like a Disney movie, but it’s REAL!” she wrote on Facebook.
The map above shows the pup’s 150-mile journey across the frozen Bering Sea
It wasn’t until another family member shared a Facebook photo of a missing dog resembling Nanuq that Iworrigan knew her pup had somehow crossed the frozen Bering Sea and made a 100-mile journey north to Wales. In the photo: Nanuq in Wales
Good Samaritans took care of Nanuq and tried to find his owners
Iworrigan filmed the heartwarming reunion between the pup and her family on April 6
Nanuq appeared to be in good health, apart from a bite to the leg that required immediate treatment. The family still doesn’t know what bit him, but speculates it may have been a polar bear.
“Wolverine, seal, little nanuq, we don’t know because it’s like a really big bite,” Iworrigan said.
The family could not afford to pay $750 to get Nanuq treated. They were later graciously offered support by the non-profit pet organization, PAWS of Nome.