If your dog has ever inexplicably gone missing, then I’m sure you know just how terrifying and anxiety-inducing of an experience that can be. But what if you didn’t have to worry about peppering the streets with “Missing Dog” posters, or driving through town whistling for him outside your car window?
What if your dog was smart enough to report himself as missing to the local authorities?
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For one lucky family in Texas, their beloved pet knew exactly where to go when he wound up lost.
As Bored Panda reported, officers at the Odessa Police Department were treated to quite the unusual sight this past February when a dog casually strolled inside the facility and headed towards the nearest person, presumably seeking to file his own “Missing Puppy” report.
Sergeant Rusty Martin was among the group of amused, albeit baffled officers who greeted the smiling pup.
He told Bored Panda that the dog didn’t seem very anxious at all, and actually got up on his hind legs to place his paws on the front desk, ready to discuss his problem with the awaiting officers.
Initially, the cops decided to make the most of their charming visitor.
Martin said they showered the pup with “lots of love and attention”, as anyone would do if they were greeted by such a happy-go-lucky doggo.
“We were all excited to have him in the building,” he recalled to BP . “We had a tennis ball and threw it in the lobby for a bit. Everyone loved him.”
Of course, eventually it was time to get down to business and help the lost pup find his presumably very worried owners.
However, that would prove pretty difficult, considering the dog was wearing a collar, but his identification tag had fallen off.
Officers decided the best course of action was to call Animal Control to check the sweet pup over for a microchip.
But apparently this dog didn’t have time to just hang around and wait for help, because he snuck out of the department before Animal Control even showed up!
“He ran out just as quick as he came in,” Sergeant Martin said.
A Facebook post from the department describing the unusual encounter explained that an “exhaustive” search for the missing dog ensued, but officers were unable to track him down again.
Thankfully, the pup was able to find his own way home after that quick pit-stop at his local police department.
“The owner responded the next day [to say that] it was his dog and he had returned home,” Martin recalled. “He lives about a mile from the station.”
As it turns out, the mystery dog’s name is Chico, and as the department said on Facebook , “[He] is welcome back anytime.”
h/t: Bored Panda , Facebook | Support Our Permian Basin Police Officers
