--- description: An intrepid dog hitchhiked over 900 miles across Australia to find his family after they went on vacation without him. title: Dog Hitchhiked Over 900 Miles to Find Family During Vacation image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c7a76a0da092b58/6988f8830a4a221d4a9d16f3/dog-hitchhiked-to-find-family.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Plucky Dog Hitchhikes 900 Miles After Its Family Left for Vacation  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 17, 2018 9:30 PM CUT  Road trip with dog's head out car window Road trip with dog's head out car windowGreatStoneFace—Getty Images/iStockphoto  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 17, 2018 9:30 PM CUT Being loyal is [a trait that’s long been associated with dogs](http://time.com/4758283/inside-the-minds-of-dogs/ "undefined"), but an intrepid pup named Rusty took it to the next level, embarking on a [_Homeward Bound_](http://entertainment.time.com/2008/10/07/top-10-dog-movies/slide/homeward-bound-the-incredible-journey-1993/ "undefined")\-style expedition by hitchhiking more than 900 miles across Australia after the pet’s family went on vacation without their pet. According to [_7 News Adelaide_](https://www.instagram.com/p/BeCZ-rsHNTp/?taken-by=7newsadelaide "undefined"), the three-year-old terrier traveled all the way from Goondiwindi in Queensland to Snowtown in South Australia, hitchhiking across the country by stowing away in the back of a truck on the highway. While Rusty is still in Snowtown, waiting to head back to Queensland to its family, this isn’t the first time that the pup has ventured out; according to the family, Rusty took another trek the last time they vacationed, but only made it about 160 miles away from home. Watch Rusty’s epic trip below. > [](https://twitter.com/7NewsAdelaide/status/953378062103490560) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5106678/dog-hitchhikes-900-miles-across-australia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5106678/dog-hitchhikes-900-miles-across-australia/"},"headline":"Plucky Dog Hitchhikes 900 Miles After Its Family Left for Vacation","datePublished":"2018-01-17T21:30:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:49:49.888Z","description":"Meet Rusty the dog","url":"https://time.com/5106678/dog-hitchhikes-900-miles-across-australia/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c7a76a0da092b58/6988f8830a4a221d4a9d16f3/dog-hitchhiked-to-find-family.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c7a76a0da092b58/6988f8830a4a221d4a9d16f3/dog-hitchhiked-to-find-family.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Driving with Dog","caption":"Driving with Dog","creditText":"GreatStoneFace—Getty Images/iStockphoto","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5106678/dog-hitchhikes-900-miles-across-australia/","name":"Plucky Dog Hitchhikes 900 Miles After Its Family Left for Vacation"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Meet Mochi, A St. Bernard Who Now Holds the Record for World's Longest Dog Tongue","description":"Meet Mochi, a St. Bernard Who Now Holds the Record for World's Longest Dog Tongue","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/n6aKVhCm/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-10-05T19:51:18.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/n6aKVhCm.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5106678/dog-hitchhikes-900-miles-across-australia/","duration":"PT48S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5106678/dog-hitchhikes-900-miles-across-australia/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```