Bruno the Town Dog

Longville, Minnesota

For 14 years, from 2004 to 2018, Bruno, a Chesapeake-Lab mix, would walk four miles along Highway 84 nearly every day from his owners' house into downtown Longville, where shopkeepers would treat him with everything from deli meat to doughnuts to ice cream. Bruno's owners initially tried to chain him up, but he nearly choked himself trying to get free -- so he was allowed to make his daily trek.

Bruno was so popular that in 2015 the town unveiled a statue of him, carved from a black walnut log by sculptor Paul Albright. And in 2017 Bruno was made the grand marshal of the town's 4th of July parade. But Bruno was getting old and slow, and in May 2018 he was hit by a car and died.

The statue of Bruno in a main street alleyway now serves as his public cenotaph, even though he is in fact buried in his owners' front yard. Offering of colorful rocks and toys are left on the rock on which Bruno reclines, and his nose has been rubbed white by well-wishers. An accompanying engraved plaque calls Bruno, "Longville's dog and ambassador," and, "A very remarkable dog and friend to everyone."