Sissy, a miniature white Schnauzer, took the term ‘animal navigation’ to a whole new level when she appeared at Mercy Medical Centre in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The concerned puppy was looking for her owner Nancy Dale, who had been at the hospital for the last two weeks. The strangest part is that Sissy has never been to that hospital before and no one had ever taken her to see Nancy. The fact that she was able to find her way to the hospital baffled everyone.

Nancy’s husband Dale explained that Sissy had probably followed the scent, but even so – it is still a miraculous example of dogs’ extraordinary sense of smell.

Nancy Franck had undergone surgery for ovarian cancer in 2015 and had stayed at the hospital to receive further medical treatment.

Mrs. Franck’s husband and daughter were her regular visitors. The Franck family also had two Schnauzers named Sissy and Barney but, understandably, didn’t think bringing them to the hospital would be a good idea.

Their dog Sissy clearly didn’t agree though. She missed her mom so much, but everyone was too preoccupied with Nancy’s health to notice Sissy’s strange behavior. It wasn’t until Sissy escaped from home that they realized that something was wrong.

Dale Franck was grief-stricken when Sissy disappeared and he looked everywhere for her. Luckily, Sissy had a tag with Franck’s phone number on her collar.

In an interview with ABC News, Dale explained that “Sissy was on a mission to see her mom”. Around 1:30 a.m. Dale noticed that Sissy was gone. It was very dark outside, but he went out looking for her. “I kept checking everywhere,” he recalled. “I was pulling my hair out,” he continued.

A couple of hours later, the family received a phone call. Sissy was found, she was safe, and it was a huge relief.

Samantha Conrad, a security officer at Mercy Medical Centre, found the dog and called the number from Sissy’s collar.

Upon receiving such good news, Dale asked his daughter to go with him to pick Sissy up. When they came to the hospital, everyone told them that they were shocked to see a dog who seemed to be on a mission.

Sissy was wandering around the lobby, looking at elevators as if she was trying to figure out what elevator to take.

Doctors allowed Nancy’s daughter to take the dog up to see the patient for a couple of minutes.

Surprised to see her beloved Schnauzer, Nancy asked Dale if he had brought the dog in under his coat.

After hearing what had actually happened, Nancy was equally surprised and couldn’t explain how her dog had gotten there.

“The only thing I could think of was that Sissy used to ride with me to pick up my wife from work next door to the hospital,” said Dale trying to think of an explanation about how Sissy might have gotten 15 blocks to the hospital.

Scientists have conducted numerous studies to determine the way dogs rely on a sense of smell to map their location. Although no one can offer a bulletproof theory about how Sissy got to the hospital, it’s clear that she somehow sniffed her way to her mom – and was shockingly precise at doing so.

Nancy must have felt a lot better after cuddling with her doggo that had missed mom so much.

Animal navigation is impressive. It’s no wonder we hear so many stories about lost pets who find their way back home.

Different species have different kinds of “natural orientation maps.” It’s a known fact that dogs have a lot more smell receptors than humans. Moreover, the surface area in dogs’ noses is bigger than that of humans. They’re also much better at moving air through their noses than we are.

Other animals orient themselves in different ways. Seabirds, for example, steer by the sun and the stars. Other animals orient themselves along the lines of the Earth’s magnetic fields.

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Source: YouTube/Mercy Cedar Rapids; Air; Time; ABCNews; DogTime; DogBlogGlobal; DailyMail; MyFox28Columbus; GlobalNews; Adelaide