There's plenty of doomscrolling to be done on social media—but sometimes, it's good to cleanse the palette with a story of inspiration, courage, and (of course) cute dogs. The internet got that story this week, when media outlets reported on a group of 7 dogs walking together on a highway, allegedly escaping a meat factory and finding their way home.
In mid-March 2026, Chinese social media platforms reported on a video by a Chinese content creator named Lu, who recorded a video of seven dogs walking along a busy highway in Changchun, China.
In the footage, a Corgi leads a group of dogs, including a Golden Retriever, a Labrador, and a Pekinese, carefully surrounding an injured German Shepherd.
Lu was immediately suspicious of the pack, which seemed out of place on the busy highway.
“They resemble a band of little brothers in distress, moving in unison, nothing like stray dogs," Lu told mainland Chinese media outlet Dahe Daily.
Although he attempted to guide them to safety, the dogs ignored him. Concerned, Lu then shared the video, hoping authorities would step in.
Though it took a full two days, the dogs safely made their way back home.
A "valiant band of goofballs"
According to The South China Morning Post, the video struck a chord in users, garnering over 230 million views and thousands of comments. Though it's difficult to say the full reach of the video (China has online censorship laws that make analytics hard to pinpoint), many U.S. media outlets picked up the story almost immediately.
Across the world, the story felt almost cinematic, a demonstration of loyalty and spirit by our four-legged friends.
"SO CUTE OMH," read one comment on TikTok.
"What a valiant band of goofballs," a Reddit poster gushed.
"I'm going to cry," posted @tiredfeminist on X.
Home safe and sound
The pets were allegedly stolen by thieves working at a dog meat shop.
The Corgi (whose name is Dapang, which translates to “big fatty”) and three other dogs all belonged to a local Changchun woman. She’d been distraught and frantically searching for her dogs for days.
Thankfully, Dapang wandered into the house on March 18, and the other dogs were found at a neighboring house.
A German Shepherd and a Golden Retriever belonged to another resident, who said: “We are so lucky they came back, not to be eaten.”
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.—
