Brighten Your Day

Man Volunteers To Drive Dog Found In Maryland Back Home To Kansas

December 6, 2017

One man is volunteering and asking for nothing in return to make sure a dog in Maryland gets back home to Kansas.

Credit: Caroline County Humane Society

The Caroline County Humane Society in Maryland posted a picture on their Facebook page of an older, very thin, Pitbull mix who had been found as a stray. They said no one came looking for him but fortunately he was microchipped. They learned the dog's name was Zimba and, using the microchip, they were able to track his home back to Wichita, Kansas.

Volunteers got in touch with the dog's "mom," who told them her boyfriend took the dog on a trip. While away, the couple broke up, and the boyfriend apparently abandoned Zimba and then stopped returning her phone calls.

"She was thrilled to hear he was safe," CCHS said.

The humane society said the big dilemma was getting him back to Wichita -- approximately 1,300 miles away.

"We tried contacting Airlines but that proved to be an unsuccessful solution. His mom in Wichita is unable to drive to us because of her children and her job. We even contacted the Humane Society where his mom had originally adopted him. They did not have a solution for us either."

That's where Zach Holt comes in.

Zach used to work at the shelter, and one of the current animal control officers there is his girlfriend. When she told him Zimba's story, he volunteered to drive Zimba all the way home to Wichita.

"I'm a bartender," he tells WJZ Baltimore. "I strictly work, you know, the weekends and Monday and I have Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday off. And four days is plenty of time to get to Kansas and back, so I said, 'Why not?'"

Zach and Zimba started their trip on December 5.

Their journey is being documented on the humane society's Facebook page as they make their way from Maryland to Kansas.

If you would like to donate money to cover his gas, tolls, hotel or any other road-trip expenses, CCHS says to visit their donation page at www.CarolineHumane.org.