Even dogs can't resist the World Cup craze

Some dogs chase squirrels. Others chase tennis balls. La Gorda apparently chased a World Cup watch party.

After spending a month searching for her missing dog, 24-year-old Ale García had almost no reason to believe her brother when he called with an unbelievable update: He'd spotted La Gorda celebrating Mexico's World Cup victory...on Facebook Live.

Let’s rewind…Her 6-year-old escape artist had disappeared from the family's backyard after squeezing through yet another tiny gap in the gate. La Gorda had pulled off similar escapes before, but she'd always wandered back home within hours, waiting at the front door to be let in.

• This time was different, as days turned into weeks.
• Ale posted in neighborhood group chats and on Facebook, followed up on reported sightings that always seemed to come just a little too late, and kept hoping her mischievous pup was still out there.

Naturally, Ale thought her brother was joking about the Facebook Live—until she opened the livestream.

Sure enough, there was La Gorda, being held high above a crowd of jubilant soccer fans outside a stadium in Ciudad Victoria, as one supporter danced with her after Mexico's win over the Czech Republic.

García and her friend Kenia immediately jumped in the car and raced to the celebration. They started calling La Gorda's name, and within moments the dog came running over. She was thinner, limping, and had lost 15 pounds after a month on the streets, but was otherwise OK. Her injured paw healed quickly after returning home.

The story only gets better: After Ale shared the reunion online, her posts went viral, prompting strangers to send photos and videos documenting La Gorda's month-long adventure across the city. 

Ale learned that multiple people had been feeding her, giving her water, and checking on her after assuming she was a stray, but simply hadn't seen the family's posts about their missing dog.

The internet, naturally, had a field day. One commenter joked that La Gorda had been "caught on live TV" after calling in sick. Another quipped that she didn't run away at all, she just got tickets to the game.