Dog Walks Four Miles Into Town Everyday And Gets Statue Erected In His Honor

Credit: Chad Nelson/KARE
Credit: Chad Nelson/KARE

This dog has been strolling his way into everyone’s hearts in his small town of Longville, Minnesota for years now by individually greeting every member when he visits.

Bruno has always been independent, so when he first showed up in Debbie and Larry LaVallee’s lives and they tried to keep him there, that plan failed quickly. As a puppy, he was brought to the LaVallee’s house and told that their dog had been found wandering around. Even though he wasn’t actually their dog, when Larry looked at cute, tiny Bruno, he decided on the spot to keep him.

Though Bruno calls their house home, he immediately showed them that he wasn’t going to stay on the chain they tethered him to by nearly choking himself while trying to escape. They tried desperately to keep him from roaming around because they didn’t want him to get hurt, but that backfired. Since the LaVallee’s didn’t want another incident, they decided to let him wander around.

Credit: Scott Sleight
Credit: Scott Sleight

Twelve years later and Bruno has developed a specific route from his home and into the town of Longville, where he visits the same stores and people everyday. He walks around at will with a smile on his face, occasionally stopping to shake someone’s hand.

Sharon Rouse, a citizen who watched Bruno’s arrival from the window of the realty office she works at, said, “Everybody knows Bruno. May not know the people, but you’ll know Bruno.”

Among Bruno’s stops are the city hall, the library, an ice cream shop, several realty offices, and a grocery store. At the grocery store, deli workers greet him with meat scraps they’ve saved and he often eats ice cream at the shop he visits.

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Credit: Chad Nelson/KARE

Though everyone in the town knows Bruno, newcomers are often not sure how to handle this loose dog and stop him to call the LaVallees and report that they have found their dog. Debbie has said that the silence on the end of the line is also predictable when they tell the newcomers to let Bruno go because he will find his way home.

At the end of his busy day, Bruno usually hitches a ride back to his home with Mary Tripp, a local who sometimes gives him a donut that she buys just for him.

“He’s more friendly [than] most of the humans in town, and I’m not saying that in a negative way about the humans,” Tripp says.  “He’s that lovable.”

Credit: Chad Nelson/KARE
Credit: Chad Nelson/KARE

His four-mile trip into town doesn’t stop him from continuing to walk around while in town, but he has gotten slower over the years as he ages, sometimes even staying home altogether. That’s why the town decided to put up a wooden statue of Bruno with an accompanying marker that says: “Longville’s town dog and ambassador.”

Debbie LaVallee knows Bruno’s days are numbered, but that he is a kindred spirit that has positively impacted everyone in town. Recent fame on the internet and TV has caused more people to visit Longville to meet Bruno, giving him all the love he deserves during his remaining years.

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