Entire Dog Blog

Zinfandel, a 19-month-old champion purebred chow-chow who went missing on Sunday, was found by a motorist whose daughter had seen pictures of the missing dog in a local newspaper. Zinfandel was home with his owners by Tuesday.

He was hungry and wet but uninjured when an unnamed man found him wandering along a road in Cathedral City (California).

[Owners] Olson and Boyes left the dog in a car outside the International House of Pancakes Sunday morning, and when they returned, Zinfandel was gone.

"We'll never know how Zin got out. We don't know whether someone let him out or if he's just extraordinarily talented," Olson told the newspaper.

Zinfandel was in the area to compete in the annual Palm Springs Kennel Club Dog Show in Indio.

The man who found Zinfandel will get a $1,000 reward.

The owners estimate that Zinfandel is worth $10,000. They assume the dog had been stolen.