Missing Pet Dog Returns Home, Rings Doorbell Hours After Running Away Due To Fireworks

Owners of a dog who ran off and went missing for several hours after getting spooked by fireworks were pleasantly surprised to see their pet ringing the doorbell.

According to Mary Lynn Whitacre and Ryan Washick of Simpsonville, South Carolina, their lab-Catahoula Leopard Dog mix named Rajah was spooked by nearby fireworks while playing outside of their home on Sunday, WYFF reported. They said that the dog jumped over their fence and ran.

“She was in the backyard with our other dog and our neighbor started shooting off fireworks and I knew she’d be scared. “I went to the backyard - and she was gone,” Whitacre told SWNS.

After the dog went missing, the couple immediately began sharing photos of their pet on social media and driving around their area searching for it.

Washick said he walked for miles in search of the dog before staying awake late on Sunday night waiting for it. “I kept hoping I wouldn’t find her on the side of the road,” he was quoted as saying by The State.

Then, in the wee hours of Monday, he heard scratching outside and the doorbell ringing.

Whitacre said: “My husband came home and was driving around looking for her. We were ready to call all the shelters and she just showed up and rang the doorbell.”

The doorbell camera showed Rajah ringing the doorbell with her nose and waiting for her owners to let her in.

Whitacre said she does not have an idea how Rajah managed to ring the bell as no one taught her how to do it. “She doesn’t go out in the front yard, except to the car, so she’s never seen us use the doorbell.”

The owners of the dog said they were extremely happy about their pet’s “polite return.”

On her Facebook account, Whitacre said the dog was “dirty and covered in thorns” after returning home. She also shared photos of Rajah resting and bonding with her owners after her return.

“We are so grateful and happy to have our girl back home,” she said in another post.

Washick said he will add cattle fencing to their back fence to avoid similar incidents with the dog.