Famous Explorer Dog Names

Whether she liked it or not, Laika, a stray from Moscow, became the first dog to orbit Earth. 

For dog lovers, Laika’s story is a bit heartbreaking but the importance of her mission was never understated. She was chosen to be the sole occupant of Sputnik 2, the second spacecraft ever to enter Earth’s orbit. While the first two dogs, Tsygan and Dezik (also Russian), survived their trip aboard the R-1 Missile flight, Laika’s journey had much larger scientific implications. Because the technology to de-orbit was not yet established, her survival was not expected, but the results and data scientists recovered helped pave the way for human spaceflight. In 2008, she was honored with a monument of her perched atop a rocket, placed near the military facility where she was largely prepared for her flight. 

Although Laika never made it home, plenty of adventurous dogs have wandered off into the great beyond, only to find their way back to their families. 

Bobbie the Wonder Dog may be the perfect example. While on vacation in Indiana with his family in August of 1923, Bobbie was attacked by three dogs and was subsequently scared off. His family held an exhaustive search for their beloved pet but came up empty before heading back home to Oregon, resolved to the high likelihood of never seeing their two-year-old Scotch Collie/English Shepherd again.

But six months later in February, Bobbie showed up in Silverton, ragged beyond belief and showing every bit that he had actually walked the entire way home — at least 2,500 miles, and that's a rough estimate to say the least. To get home, it was proposed that Bobbie had to not only cross rivers but cross the Continental Divide, all in the coldest and deadest part of winter. His trip included crossing plains, deserts, and mountains to find and continue following the scent of his family. 

After his return home, he became a national celebrity. Eventually it surfaced that he had been helped along the way and those who had done so even wrote to Bobbie’s family about their shared time with him, enough so that the Humane Society of Portland could semi-accurately map his trip across the United States. Thanks to his dedication and nose, this highly-intelligent dog followed his family’s scent nearly 3000 miles. He even found his way to three different service stations the family had parked at overnight while on their way home and likely trekked day and night, averaging around 14 miles a day. 

Bobbie was rightfully fawned over and rewarded for his unequaled loyalty. He starred in a silent film and received hundreds of letters from people around the world, ribbons, jeweled articles, and even keys to some cities. He spent the remainder of his life adored. 

After his eventual death in 1927, he was buried with honor in Portland and was even presented a wreath by film star Rin Tin Tin himself a week later — a true testament to one of the most dedicated and adventurous dogs that ever lived.