The dogs in New Orleans’ Carnival pet parade included a pooch that hitched a ride 1,200 miles from Taos, New Mexico, to the city where his 26-year-old master had hitchhiked weeks earlier.

Stephan Soleas came to New Orleans for a few weeks of visits and music. He said his 6-year-old Labrador mix, Charlie, went missing days after he left.

They were reunited 10 days later — Feb. 5 — when Magazine Street Animal Clinic co-owner Teresa Gernon checked a microchip in the white dog’s neck. Two days later, they were in the Krewe of Barkus pet parade.

Gernon says Charlie was found by a couple vacationing in Taos. They saw a collarless dog, tried to find its owner, then gave up airline tickets and rented a car to drive home with it. The New Mexico vet they saw had no microchip scanner.