So goes the famous poem from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, which illuminates the idea that appearances can be deceiving and first impressions don’t always bear out the whole truth of a situation.
Those words hold true for animals as well as for humans, as was proved by the amazing story of an adventurous dog named Dew, who wandered his way into social media stardom.
“So when he came up to me at the gas station and sat next to me, I was like, ‘This dog has been lost for a while,’” said Wilson.
But when he took the time to approach the dog, he found that the lab wasn’t at all timid or agitated, indicating that he was domesticated. Plus, he had a collar with tags on it. This, combined with the dog’s healthy appearance, led Wilson to believe he could help the dog get back home.
When he looked down at the tags, Wilson was in for a serious surprise. It was a message from the dog’s owners. “My name is Dew. I am not lost. I like to roam. Tell me to go home.” Now, Wilson was really impressed.
After this, Wilson couldn’t help but reach down and give the sweet dog a big hug. “He got me a little wet from the rain, but it was worth it,” he said to The Dodo.
His dad, Stewart Lee noted that Dew has a keen sense for going wherever he is most welcome. “It’s like he knows the routine, the firehouse has hot dogs on Monday, Mrs. Johnson has steak on Tuesday [...] We’re fortunate to have neighbors in the community like that.”
Wilson recorded the encounter and posted it online, where it went massively viral, with hundreds of thousands of interactions.
The Lees wanted everyone who was worried about Dew’s safety on his long journeys to know that they keep a close eye on him, albeit a virtual one. “He is very monitored,” Mandey Lee told BuzzFeed. “[He] does not go far, is home every night, and does not miss a meal.”
In addition to the tags, the family got him microchipped so they can use a GPS tracker to stay up to date on Dew’s whereabouts, which sometimes produces some funny conversations. As Stewart explained, “My mom was saying ‘I don’t think this is right, because it shows him doing 40 [mph] going down Preston [Highway].’” It turned out that Dew was either on the school bus or the firetruck that day.
But his adventures don’t just bring laughter and likes; they also mean a lot to people in the local community. For one nearby resident, Dew just happened to show up when she needed a friend the most, after losing a loved one. “She was on her porch crying and really going through a hard time,” Mandey told BuzzFeed. “Dew had come up on her porch and consoled her.”
Local social media is full of pictures of humans who appreciate Dew’s company and give him lots of love—whether it’s extra food or pets, or even a comfortable place to hang out and take a nap at. Unfortunately, Dew’s wandering does mean that his original calling as a farm dog has been dramatically transformed. “His hunting consists of cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets,” Stewart confided to Spectrum 1 News.
As for his parents, the most important thing is that he brings smiles and brightens days in a several-mile radius around them, and that’s enough. Not all those dogs that wander are lost, it turns out.
