Watch: missing golden retriever rescued on South African road trip

What was supposed to be the final stretch of a six-week road trip around South Africa took an unexpected turn when content creator Josh Rubin stopped to help a golden retriever found in distress on the highway, ***Cape {town} Etc ***reports.

The dog, later identified as 11-year-old Mia, was in poor condition when Rubin found her. Her fur was badly matted; she was covered in ticks, and her skin was in a terrible state. Rather than drive past, Rubin and his travel companion brought her into their car and took her home.

After giving Mia a wash and removing as many ticks as they could, they took her to a 24-hour vet for further care.

The veterinary visit brought an important clue. Mia had a microchip, but the contact number attached to it did not lead Rubin to her family. Despite the dead end, the chip confirmed her name and indicated that she was about 11 years old. Rubin then began searching for her owners.

He posted about Mia in local groups, checked missing-dog pages and tried to find anyone who might recognise her. While the search continued, Mia stayed with Rubin and his companions. Mia quickly became part of the journey, with Rubin saying she fitted into the road trip ‘ridiculously easy’, and within days the travellers had become deeply attached to her.



Mia had been missing for seven weeks

The breakthrough eventually came when Mia’s family saw one of Rubin’s posts and contacted him. They told him that Mia had been missing for seven weeks and had been desperately missed. What followed was not a simple handover.

Rubin said he and Mia’s family spent several days talking about her history and what would ultimately be best for her. He chose not to reveal the private details of those conversations, but said the family were ‘genuinely incredible people’. In the end, they agreed that Mia should remain with Rubin and gave him their blessing to adopt her.

This meant the road trip would end rather differently from how it began. After six weeks of travelling around South Africa as two, Rubin was now heading home with Mia as part of the family.

Rubin asks people not to judge Mia’s previous family

The emotional rescue story prompted an overwhelmingly positive response online, with many commenters thanking Rubin for stopping to help Mia. ‘Thank you for saving Mia,’ one Instagram user wrote, while another described the golden retriever as a beauty and thanked Rubin for rescuing her.

However, some commenters questioned why Mia’s original family did not take her back after she was found. Rubin responded by asking people not to make assumptions about a situation they did not know the full details of. He explained that he had deliberately left much of Mia’s history out of his original post to protect the family’s privacy.

‘I really want to make it clear that they are incredible people and Mia was very loved and extremely well cared for.’

– Josh Rubin via Instagram.

Rubin added that the decision for Mia to stay with him had not been easy for her previous family. According to Rubin, it was reached only after extensive conversations between everyone involved, with the shared view that staying with him was in Mia’s best interests.

He urged followers not to direct negativity towards the family, stressing that *‘they loved Mia deeply’. *For Mia, the chance encounter on a South African highway has now resulted in a new chapter. As for Rubin, what began as a road trip for two ended with an unexpected passenger who was ultimately given a permanent place in the journey home.

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**Picture: **Instagram / Joshwideawake

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