An escaped Border Terrier dog named Lucky made an epic 160-kilometre journey across Switzerland. It happened on the night before the country's national holiday, last week.
Lucky's owners had gone on holiday to nearby Germany, and they left her in a kennel in the city of Bern, but the 14-year-old dog broke out on Monday evening.
The next morning she turned up in Geneva, which is 160 kilometres away, the RTS radio station reported.
"There was a hole in the fence" at the kennel, said Lucky's owner Jennifer Wagner.
The dog was found near Lake Geneva on the morning of August 1, as a round of fireworks began sounding for the Swiss national holiday.
A Geneva resident spotted the animal on the side of a road and called the authorities, RTS said.
Because Lucky has a microchip, the police quickly tracked down her owners, who were in Germany frantically awaiting news of their escaped pet.
Besides having a few insects in her fur, Lucky did not seem to have been hurt during her journey.
"I feel lucky that she is healthy, and was not injured," Jennifer said.
"It was a big fright for us."
Jennifer however thinks her dog had a little help for her epic journey.
She believes someone must have picked up the very friendly dog and driven her to Geneva.
"I don't think it is possible she ran the whole way. It is 160 kilometres," she said.
"That is impossible for a dog in such a short time."
Five things to know about
- Switzerland is a landlocked country in the centre of Europe. "Landlocked" means it has no coast on the sea. It is surrounded by Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy and France.
- About 9 million people live there. The capital of Switzerland is Bern, but the largest city is Zurich.
- Switzerland is located in the tall, snowy Alps mountain range. Lots of people go there to ski and to admire the beautiful mountains and lakes.
- Switzerland has four official languages: Swiss German (which is spoken by most of the people), French, Italian and Romansch.
- Switzerland is famous for making chocolate, cheese and watches. It is also famous for being neutral. This means it never takes part in wars.
