A boisterous canine just went on the adventure of his life where he romped across the scenic landscapes of South America for 800km. The story all began in Uruguay where the dog, Jefferson, had started following a group who were undertaking a 2000km trek for charity called ‘Walk to the World Cup’. The guys were hoping to raise enough money to build a water well in drought stricken Bahia, north east Brazil. Initially they presumed Jefferson would grow tired of the arduous trek and subsequently return home…. instead it seemed that Jefferson decided it was time to see the world!
Accompanying them for the remaining half of the grueling journey, Jefferson eventually became part of the close knit team and even received his own jersey. The guys were none the wiser that Jefferson had an owner desperately searching for him back in Uruguay and they merely believed he was a stray. It was only when a TV station broadcast the group’s charity trek did his owner, Nacho, contact the team about Jefferson. Nacho had apparently almost given up all hope of finding Jefferson and could not believe his cherished companion was safe and sound on a charity trek during his entire disappearance.
Nacho hitch hiked all the way from his home town in Uruguay to Porto Alegre (the team’s final destination) to be reunited with Jefferson. The reunion was a particularly emotional one as you can see from the video below. As dedicated pet owners, we can certainly understand how Nacho would be feeling that exact moment he saw Jefferson again. We can certainly see that Jefferson was just as ecstatic and thrilled. We wish Jefferson and Nacho all the best with their return to home sweet home. Hopefully Jefferson will let Nacho know in advance if he has any plans to travel abroad once more.
Since the news broke on social media, Jefferson has become one of the most famous dogs in South America. He has appeared in all sorts of press articles from Brazil to Serbia. What we are delighted to hear is that this has consequently increased recognition of the ‘Walk to the World Cup’ charity event. The team have almost reached 16, 000 pounds of their 20, 000 pounds goal which expires at the end of the World Cup. If you want to find out more about this charity event, you can check them out on their Facebook page.