Lost ‘cruising K9’ finally home with Fairfax Co. family

Dante is reunited with his family outside of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. (Courtesy, Fairfax County Animal Shelter via Facebook)

In Fairfax County, Virginia, one family of pet owners are overjoyed after their long-lost pet made its way across county borders and back home.

The county’s animal shelter shared the news in a post Friday afternoon, after a family came to look for a new furry family member.

“They’d been looking around for a while, but just hadn’t felt a connection yet,” the shelter said. “They looked through our adoption kennels but still no one caught their eye.”

That’s when a furry friend made a connection with the family of four — as it turns out, this mighty soldier, whose actual name was Dante, was theirs all along. They just didn’t know it yet.



“Their dog had gone missing in another county a while back and they looked everywhere but didn’t think he could’ve made it this far away,” the shelter said. He’d reportedly been found in Clifton, Virginia, on Aug. 2 and returned to the shelter by a community member.

With tail wagging, jumping and a bit of excited whining, Dante was returned to his home after a long search for a new adoptable pet. The Fairfax County Animal Shelter said the beloved dog was found thanks to a bit of sweet serendipity.

“Maybe this was the universe not letting them feel a connection with any other dog because Dante was still waiting for them.”

Editor’s Note: Our furry friends don’t need a passport to get from county to county. This story has been edited to further clarify that the daring Dante was still in the U.S. 

Ivy Lyons

Ivy Lyons is a digital journalist for WTOP.com. Since 2018, they have worked on Capitol Hill, at NBC News in Washington, and with WJLA in Washington.

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