OKLAHOMA — If you were to ask Melissa Burris about her 10-month-old Australian Shepherd, Rio, she would tell you he is an escape artist. “He knows how to open a screen door, and any weakness at the bottom of the fence, he will find his way underneath,” Burris said. But July 30 was the start of his longest disappearing act yet. “He had taken off. His sister stayed behind, and I checked his usual spots. He likes to take himself shopping at the Dollar General on the corner and at the gas station across the street from it, and the gas station attendant said that he thought one of his customers may have taken him, even though he let him know that he knew the owner, and she’d be right here to get him,” Burris said. When she got there, Rio was already gone. For weeks, she worried. “I was afraid that he had been hurt,” Burris said. But Rio reappeared more than 1,000 miles away on the East Coast. “Aug. 11, he was scanned in Greensboro, North Carolina,” she said. To get from Sand Springs to Greensboro, you would have to drive for about 16 hours or walk for nearly two weeks. So, how did he get there? “We have no idea. Our best guess is that it was a long-haul truck or maybe a student going off to college,” Burris said. How he got there doesn’t matter to Burris. What matters is that Rio was found safe, even if he was a little shaken up. “I was just so happy. I was so happy and so grateful and thankful that he was safe and healthy and well,” Burris said. Burris said getting him home was no mystery. “We got to see all the mountains. We just drove through the Blue Ridge and the Smokies, and I think there were five different mountain ranges on our route,” she said. Rio didn’t say much on the ride home. “You got anything you want to say, big guy? I think that means he’s happy to be home,” Burris said. She said if you can take anything away from this tale, it is to make sure your pet is microchipped. Olivia Hickey, CNN
