The story of how Longville, Minnesota, got its official town dog Bruno began over 12 years ago when a passerby saw a stray puppy at the end of a Larry and Debbie LaVallee’s driveway. As Larry recalled, “A guy came in my driveway, and Bruno was a little pup and he says, ‘I found your dog at the end of your driveway.’ I says, ‘Well he ain’t my dog.'” Larry figured the puppy had been abandoned and decided on the spur of the moment to take him in.
Bruno turned out to be anything but a homebody. He didn’t want to stay in the house all the time and wouldn’t even stay in the yard. The LaVallees tried chaining him but he tugged so hard at it, they were afraid he’d hurt himself. They gave up: if Bruno wanted to wander, so be it. The incredible thing is that he “commutes” all the way to Longville and back, about 4 miles each way! Larry, who was once the local garbage collector recalls discovering Bruno’s destination: “The first time I seen him in town, he almost beat me to town. I was picking garbage on the way, and I get in town, and I wasn’t there five minutes, and there’s Bruno.”
Over the years, Bruno has made friends with just about everyone in Longville — there are only about 150 residents. Nearly every day, he makes his rounds always receiving some love and usually a treat, too. Mary Tripp is just one of Bruno’s friends; she buys him doughnuts and sometimes gives him a ride home. She quipped, “He’s more friendly that most of the humans in town, and I’m not saying that in a negative way about the humans. He’s that lovable.”
Check out the video posted below to see Bruno making the rounds. As you’ll see, they’ve already built a monument to the official “town dog and ambassador.”
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