Darya Stulinskaya/The Siberian TimesA loyal dog walked 125 miles ‘with tears in her eyes’ in an attempt to find the owners who had abandoned her.
Maru, a one-year-old Bullmastiff, was sold to a couple in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, about six months ago but the dog was returned to the kennel when the woman claimed to be ‘allergic’ to the animal.
However, as Maru was being transported along the Trans-Siberian railway to Novosibirsk, she managed to escape the train, using her paws to open the compartment door as it stopped briefly at a small station near Achinsk.
Darya Stulinskaya/The Siberian TimesAs reported by The Siberian Times, kennel owner Alla Morozova had come to an agreement with Maru’s owners to put her on the train and return her to the kennel.
Morozova explained:
I never give up my puppies and when a dog is bought, it is stipulated that the owners should inform me if they do not need a dog anymore.
Part of the arrangement was an attendant would be with the animal at all times on the long journey to take care of her. However, 125 miles into the journey, Maru got scared and fled the train as it came to a stop.
Darya Stulinskaya/The Siberian TimesDespite the train only stopping momentarily, Maru managed to escape from the person looking after her, jumping on the compartment door and kicking the handle to open it before ‘jumping out like a bullet’.
Morozova said the dog ‘had a panic attack’ and was ‘frightened’, explaining: ‘She had been brought by her owners, then they disappeared somewhere. The noise of the train scared her…’
After Maru ‘jumped out into the night,’ the attendant attempted to shout for her but she failed to return. Upon realising she wasn’t coming back, the owners were called and asked to help search for the animal.
However, they refused, with Morozova stating they ‘were not upset at all’, and didn’t care that their dog was lost. ‘They gave the dog away and the load fell off their shoulders,’ the kennel owner explained.
Darya Stulinskaya/The Siberian TimesMorozova posted messages in an attempt to find the lost dog and distributed leaflets asking for information. Incredibly, Maru was found just two and a half days later in an industrial area of Krasnoyarsk – where she had been living with her owners.
The kennel owner said it was ‘lucky’ she hadn’t been attacked by bears or wolves on her journey, with Morozova assuming the dog had followed the railway track the entire 125 miles back to the city.
When Maru was found, the pads on her paws were damaged and she had sustained injuries to her muzzle after falling from the railway embankment. The dog was extremely tired, with the volunteers who rescued her claiming she was ‘even in tears’.
Maru has since been reunited with her biological mum and dad in the kennels in Novosibirsk and is being treated to help her recover from her ordeal.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).