Bobbie: The Wonder Dog Who Walked Home
Share
The true story of the farm dog who was lost in Indiana and walked more than 2,500 miles, across plains, desert and mountains, to find his family in Oregon.
A farm dog on a road trip
Bobbie was a Scotch Collie mix, from an old farm breed made to cover miles of open country every day and bring the herd home.
In the summer of 1923, he was two years old and lived with Frank and Elizabeth Brazier in Silverton, Oregon. That August, the family packed their new car and set off across America to visit relatives in Indiana.
Bobbie did not ride inside. He rode on the car's running board, and when it slowed down he jumped off and ran beside it. Every night they stopped somewhere new: a gas station, a hotel, a roadside camp.
Lost in Wolcott
In the small town of Wolcott, Indiana, the family stopped to refuel. A pack of local dogs set on Bobbie and chased him away from the car.
He did not come back.
The family searched for days. They drove the roads calling his name. They put notices in the local paper. Nothing.
At last, heartbroken, they drove home to Oregon without him. More than two thousand miles away.
Somewhere out there
Autumn came. Then winter. Somewhere out there, a dog was walking.
Across the plains. Across rivers. Over the mountains, in the snow. With no one to feed him and no map, only the memory of the places he had passed through on that running board.
One month. Then three. Then five.
February 1924
In February 1924, one of the Brazier daughters stepped out of the family's restaurant in Silverton.
And there he was, walking toward her.
He was thin and filthy. His feet were raw, and his toenails were worn down to almost nothing. But it was Bobbie, and he knew exactly where he was.
How far he came
As his story spread, people who had met him along the way wrote to the family. They had fed him, sheltered him for a night, or watched him pass. Piecing their letters together, the Oregon Humane Society estimated that Bobbie had travelled about 2,551 miles.
Newspapers across the country called him Bobbie the Wonder Dog. Silverton gave him the key to the city. He was given medals, a jewelled collar, and even played himself in a silent film.
The end of the road
Bobbie died in 1927 and was buried at the Oregon Humane Society in Portland. Rin Tin Tin, the most famous film dog in the world, later laid a wreath at his grave.
Silverton has never forgotten him. Every year since 1932, the town has held a pet parade in his honour, and a mural of his long walk home still covers a wall in the town.
Why we still tell his story
He rode the whole way there beside his family. Then he walked the whole way back to them.
Bobbie at a glance
- Born: about 1921
- Breed: Scotch Collie mix
- Family: Frank and Elizabeth Brazier, Silverton, Oregon
- Lost: August 1923, Wolcott, Indiana
- Home again: February 1924, Silverton, Oregon
- Distance: about 2,551 miles
- Died: 1927, buried at the Oregon Humane Society, Portland
- Remembered by: Silverton's annual pet parade (since 1932) and his mural in town
Illustrations on this page are artistic interpretations inspired by the true story of Bobbie, not historical photographs.
