It is the worst-case scenario for anyone who has watched a dog for a friend or family member.

Elisa Varesco was taking care of her brother’s dog on Wednesday in Italy when the canine escaped. This kind of thing can happen anywhere in the world, but it just so happens that this pup’s owner lives near the cross-country ski course being used for the Winter Olympics.

And that’s how the world came to know the exploits of Nazgul, the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog who ran on the course during an event on Wednesday. The sweet video of Nazgul quickly went viral.


Elisa Varesco explained how Nazgul ended up on the course. Turns out he’s not only fast but also smart.

“He escaped from my brother’s apartment. He opened two doors himself and was suddenly gone,” Varesco told the German website, Bild.

Nazgul’s owner, Enrico, was traveling to the biathlon event near the Austria/Italy border, Bild reported. His sister went to a nearby town in search of Nazgul after discovering the dog’s great escape from the apartment.

“We actually assumed he would have run in that direction, because that’s our usual walking route. But when we saw him on TV, we were quite shocked,” Varesco told Bild.

Chances are you saw Nazgul, who proved to be a very good dog and went viral.

 

“I was like, ‘Am I hallucinating?” Tena Hadzic, a Croatian skier who saw Nazgul near the finish line, told NPR. “I don’t know what I should do, because maybe he could attack me, bite me.”

That’s not in Nazgul’s nature as he was friendly and just wanted to be petted.

The Bild story said Nazgul’s journey didn’t end at the finish line of the ski race. Course director Michel Rainer caught Nazgul, but he soon escaped again.

“This time, instead of running onto the course, he thankfully ran into the neighboring village,” Varesco said. “We finally caught him there. Nazgul is sometimes extremely wild — but also a very sweet dog.”

We all learned that’s true, right?

This story was originally published February 19, 2026 10:02 AM.