BRUNO, a 12-year-old brown Chesapeake-Labrador mix, has become the symbol of Longville, a small U.S. community of just over 150 residents. Over the past 12 years, he has been taking daily 4-mile (6.44-km) trips from his owners’ home to Longville, Minnesota, just so he can spend time with the locals.

    To the people of Longville, Bruno is a legend, an ambassador of goodwill, the town mascot, and above all a free spirit. Every resident has either lived or heard a Bruno story, and he’s such a big part of the community that the town even commissioned a wooden statue in his honor.

    Even though he lives 4 miles away with his owners, Larry and Debbie LaVallee, the friendly brown dog walks to town every day to enjoy the company of his human friends, accept tasty handouts or simply bask in the attention he gets from both familiar locals and tourists. When the day is done, he just walks back home, only to return again the next day, regardless of weather conditions.

    The LaVallee family says that Bruno came into their life as a gift. He had been abandoned in a cardboard box near their driveway and someone brought it to their door, thinking they had lost him. As fate would have it, they had just buried their own dog, and while Debbie recalls that she wasn’t ready for a new one, Larry was, so they kept him.

    Although at first they were worried that he might get hit by a car on his way to town, the LaVallees soon realized Bruno could take care of himself and simply accepted his wandering ways.

    They had tried to keep him home by chaining him, but he almost hanged himself trying to break free, so they just let him do his thing. Now, whenever someone calls to let them know they’ve found their dog, they just tell them to let him go because he’ll find his way home. And he always does.(SD-Agencies)