Lost Dog Back, Apparently After 2 Years in Forest

Family returned to campsite with his bed, and Murphy crawled in
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 20, 2014 5:31 PM CDT
Lost Dog Back, Apparently After 2 Years in Forest
A golden retriever, just not Murphy.   (Shutterstock)

After Nathan and Erin Braun's golden retriever went missing on a camping trip in Tahoe National Forest in 2012, they posted fliers and set up a Facebook page, but had no luck finding Murphy over two years, the Los Angeles Times reports. Earlier this month, however, when a camper spotted a pooch within 5 miles of where Murphy went missing, the couple drove two hours to the site and spent days searching—to no avail. As they explain in a Facebook post, the Brauns left behind Murphy's old bed with the campground host, along with some of their clothing and Nathan's ball cap.

"The very first night I laid it out I heard some movement," the campground's Jason Smith tells KXTV. "There was Murphy, sleeping on the blanket," his head on the hat. A reunion soon followed. "It was very touching," says Smith. "The whole family was crying. I was doing my best to not cry." He guesses the dog survived on roadkill and campground scraps. For the record, Erin is certain that this is Murphy, but Nathan says there's a miniscule chance it's not, and they've ordered up a DNA test to be sure. (Another pet reunion in the news involved a cat gone much longer.)

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