A missing dog is said to have surrendered himself to a local police station in Texas, USA after it ran a mile away from home, Daily Mail reports.

Police were shocked when the dog identified as Chico walked into their station on February 11 and played around with the pooch for a while.

The entire time his sleeping owner had no idea the dog was gone and he had no ID tag to match him to a home.

But police called animal control to check for a microchip and just when they thought they had the animal collared, he was off again.

‘So…. this happy guy randomly strolled into the front desk of the Police Department last night,’ the Odessa Police Department joked alongside images they snapped during the fleeting visit.

Sergeant Rusty Martin told The Dodo: ‘We were all excited to have him in the building. We had a tennis ball and threw it in the lobby for a bit. Everyone loved on him.’

Chico ‘ran out just as quick as he came in’ and officers could not catch him.

The Facebook posted continued: ‘He was given lots of love and attention until he decided it was time for him to leave. He let himself out and after an exhausting search was not found.’

The one-year-old pet had shown up at the station around 3.30am while his owner Edward Alvarado was asleep.
Alvarado only knew what had happened when his nephew text him after seeing pictures of Chico on social media.
‘He asked me, “Is that Chico?” I came outside and checked. But he was there already. That’s kind of cool,’ Alvarado told NewsWest 9. ‘He knows where to go!’

Sergeant Martin explained: ‘The owner responded the next day [to say that] it was his dog and he had returned home. He lives about a mile from the station.
‘I was impressed. He may just be cut out for this work.’

Odessa Police joked on Facebook: ‘We’re thinking he wanted to apply for a K-9 position after eliminating a Lassie type situation.’

Social media followers were impressed too. The post got 2,000 likes, 1,500 shares and was commented on more than 100 times.

Alvarado said he plans on taking his keen explorer on trips around the world since it doesn’t seem Chico plans on staying put.