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Florida dog missing for 6 weeks found 1,100 miles away in Massachusetts, returned to owner

Apollo (Photo: Cynthia Abercrombie via Facebook)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — During the past six weeks, Jacksonville dog owner Cynthia Abercrombie thought her Pyrenees mix, Apollo, may be gone forever.

Apollo escaped from his enclosure on Aug. 11, and no one – not Abercrombie nor Boston-area officials – know how he made the 1,100 mile trip.

The dog was picked up by the city of Swansea Animal Shelter on Sept. 8, and originally workers thought he was from the area.

They found he was microchipped and were able to track down Abercrombie to let knew Apollo was alive and safe, but really far away.

“She is over the moon happy that he is alive and well,” the animal shelter posted to its Facebook page. “Unfortunately, she has no way of getting him home.”

Mary Ellen House, with East Coast Paws, arranged for a relay of drivers to take Apollo from Massachusetts to Jacksonville.

Reconnecting Apollo with his owners would have probably been impossible if he hadn’t been microchipped, the animal shelter said.

“This is why getting your pet microchipped is to important,” the group’s Facebook page said.

Apollo arrived home Friday.

The Associate Press contributed to this story.