Dogs truly are man’s best friend. We can fall in love with them in just moments after meeting them, and they can do the same with us. However, when two hikers first saw the creature on the path in front of them, they were afraid it was a bear. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case at all.

When Scott Brown and his wife decided to take a walk on a local trail on a wintery, snowy day, they expected to see a bit of wildlife. They didn’t expect to see a dog though on the trail to Teneriffe Falls in Washington state, but that’s exactly what they found. A big black, furry dog sat waiting on the trail for the couple to catch up and happily joined them on their walk.

The dog refused to leave their side and walked the entire trail with them. He seemed to know the path very well and led them most of the way. He’d get a few feet ahead of them, but stop and wait patiently while they took pictures.

During the seven mile hike, the dog never faltered. He stayed with the couple the entire way. It turns out that the dog was a much better hiker than the Browns were. He knew the path much better than they did, and they would find out the reason why before they left to head back home.

When the couple reached the falls, they stopped to take pictures with their new guide and best friend. They had fallen in love with their new furry friend, but decided they should check to see if he had tags on his collar. Maybe he belonged to someone and they needed to help him find his way home.

On his collar were a set of tags that read, “Hi, I’m Smokey. I live nearby so don’t take me. I like to follow hikers sometimes.” The pieces of the puzzle all seemed to come together. He really must like to follow hikers because he’d followed them, and he definitely knew the trail much better than they did. Now it all made sense!

The back of the tag went on to say, “Don’t worry. I’ll go home when I get tired. My people love me a lot. Thanks for being nice!”

The Browns’ enjoyed the dog’s company, but they were glad to hear that he had a loving family to go home to when he decided he was done hiking for the day. Smokey followed them all the way back to their car after they left the falls, then he turned and headed back home.