Pit bull Thor returns home to Texas after floods forced journey to California

Thor, a 16-month-old blue nose pit bull, is finally returning home to Texas after severe flooding separated him from his family and he wandered more than 2,000 miles west to California.

An officer found the pit bull Sept. 26 wandering the streets of Crescent City, roughly 20 miles from the Oregon border. Earlier, a witness spotted the pit bull hopping out of the back of a pickup truck. Authorities didn’t know whether Thor had been abandoned or had jumped out of truck without the driver’s knowledge.

Thor was in relatively good shape when he was taken to Del Norte County Animal Control Shelter, said the facility’s director, Justin Riggs.

The sweet-faced pit bull had a some fur loss and fleas and was slightly underweight. But it was nothing that a good cleaning and several substantial meals couldn’t fix, Riggs said.

As shelter workers checked the pup into the facility, they discovered he was microchipped and had a home that was far from California.

“It’s pretty unusual for a dog to get more a mile or two from home,” Riggs said.

Thor’s owner, Eddie Hurtado, lived in San Marcos, Texas, and had been desperately looking for him after he went missing when torrential rains in May left much of Texas flooded.

Hurtado told Del Norte Triplicate that he and his family were displaced from their home and were forced to leave their three dogs on high ground. When they returned home, the family found the dogs were missing. They later recovered one dog, but Thor and a third dog were still missing.

Finally after months of wondering whether he would ever find his dog, Hurtado learned Thor was safe, but was more than 2,000 miles away.

“He was pretty happy to hear about Thor,” Riggs said.

But the news was bittersweet.

The costs of returning the pit bull to Texas was more than Hurtado could afford. Riggs said it would cost $1,500 to $2,000 to ship Thor to Texas.

The shelter has a policy requiring dogs to be listed for adoption within five days of being found, Riggs said. But shelter workers agreed to house the pit bull until Hurtado was able raise the funds for his return.

After more than a month at the shelter, Hurtado raised enough money through donations to pay for a truck delivery.

On Saturday, the friendly dog left Crescent City for Texas. By Monday afternoon, the truck carrying Thor had crossed into Texas.

Along the way, the truck driver sent Riggs photographs of Thor chewing on a bone and relaxing.

“We were just happy to see him go back to his family,” Riggs said.

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