A loyal pooch reportedly managed to walk 60 km back to his home after being forgotten by his owners in a highway service area 26 days prior.

According to local media, the 7-year-old dog, named Dou Dou, was forgotten in a by a Chinese family in a motorway service area when they stopped for a break on a long trip. Apparently, no one noticed that Dou Dou was missing until they arrived at their destination, several hours later. They reportedly went back to look for the pet the very next day, but found no trace of him. Luckily, the fluffy canine was able to return home by himself, after nearly a month. He was filthy and emaciated after the 60km walk, but otherwise ok.

Mr Qiu told Chinese state-run newspaper Qianjiang Evening News that he hand his family had taken their pet dog with them on a trip from their home in Hangzhou to the countryside to visit a relative. On the way there, they stopped for a break at the Tong Lu Service Station about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from their home. Qiu said that both he and his wife assumed Dou Dou had stayed in the car as they looked after their young child, and didn’t even notice he was gone until after they reached their destination.

Early the next day, Mr Qiu drove back to the service area and looked for Dou Dou for two hours, but there was no sign of him. He went back there several times after that, but he never once saw the dog, and eventually he and his wife lost all hope of ever seeing Dou Dou again.

“We just hoped it would survive and find a good-hearted person who would adopt it,” Mr Qiu told reporters.

However, last Thursday, almost a month after Dou Dou’s disappearance, Mr. Qiu noticed “a dirty, gaunt stray dog” on their doorstep, and just as he was getting ready to shoo it away, he noticed that it was in fact their beloved pet. He was so emaciated that Qiu could barely recognize him, but there was no doubt that it was Dou Dou.

“Apart from being skinner than before, Dou Dou was still the same self. Its eyes are radiating with lights,” Mr Qiu said. Luckily it didn’t have any injuries. Even though Dou Dou was tired and walking wobbly on the first day, he has become a lot more energetic recently.”

Dou Dou’s story has been doing the rounds on social media, and has even left experts impressed. While some claimed that his success in returning home was “accidental”, most said that his ability to find his home from so far away was nothing short of incredible.