A seven-year-old husky dog, Zander, was so upset by his owner’s hospitalization that he tracked him down. The dog crossed under a busy parkway and a four-lane road to get to his owner.

Joe Dolan (46) was in Good Samaritan Medical Center, in Islip, New York, being treated for a skin condition, when he received an unexpected phone call from outside of the hospital, from one of the employees saying his dog was downstairs.

The employee named Rick had found Dolan’s cell number on Zander’s collar. Rick called and said Dolan would have to pick up the dog as he would be late for work. When Dolan told Rick that he was in the hospital they soon figured out that Zander had come for a visit, having followed his owner’s scent, reported ABC news.

Dolan said the route from their home to the hospital is a “hard two miles” including a stream and tricky navigation through neighbourhood streets.

Dolan’s wife, Priscilla, said when Joe went to hospital the dog became visibly upset and spent days crying and sulking. She said he became so upset that he must have decided to leave home and track down his owner.

"I don't know how he got there, I've never taken him there," she said.

When Dolan received the call to say his dog was outside, he was surprised. He said, “It took a few days to sink in really, he was coming to see me,” he told Fox.

The dog was sent home but days later he tried again. This time he was caught and returned home.
Dolan and his wife rescued Zander from the pound five years ago and nursed him back to health. It seems he’s become attached to his owners too.

The shocked owner said, “He's my boy, we don't have any children, we have three beautiful dogs, so he's my buddy.”

He said, “For all I know he was on his way to Jersey.

“He’s gotten out in the past, but never gone to that location or anywhere near it [the hospital].”

Here’s Fox’s report on the heart-warming story: