Sometimes dogs do run away from home. Some of them are chasing after their owners who left home for work, they might be chasing another dog on the road, or they simply feel that it’s a good adventure to just jump over the fence and run for as long and as far as they can. And sometimes, they can’t seem to find their way home even though dogs have a good sense of smell.
And for this dog, she ran away from home after getting spooked by fireworks. And when she returned home, she made it known to her family that she’s back in the cutest way possible. The pooch simply rang her family’s doorbell! Rajah’s fur parents were worried sick after she managed to escape from their backyard. Rajah, a lab-Catahoula Leopard Dog mix, lives with his human parents in their Simpsonville home. One Sunday night, a neighbor set off some early July 4 fireworks, and this scared Rajah. Her fur sibling, a 2-month-old shepherd mix Ollie, just sat and watched but Rajah got so spooked that she ran off. Mary Lynn Whitacre, one of Rajah’s owners, shared that Rajah is a very fast runner. She and her husband, Ryan Washick, weren’t able to chase after her when she ran away. They weren’t sure how far away she could have gotten. Mary decided to share their ordeal on Facebook. She asked her family, friends, and neighbors to be on the lookout for their 18-month-old puppy. Though Rajah is microchipped and wears a tag with their phone numbers on it, it would still be difficult to find her. She also emailed Animal Services in case Rajah was picked up. The couple drove around Greenville County for four hours hoping that they would find her. And when they didn’t, Ryan walked for miles. Ryan said, “I kept hoping I wouldn’t find her on the side of the road.” Mary added, “Ryan and I were freaking out and we felt really helpless.” Not knowing what to do, and without any success from all their efforts, they headed back home. But Ryan sat up to wait for Rajah hoping that Rajah would find her way back home – and miraculously, she did! At around 3 AM, Ryan heard some scratching. Then he heard their doorbell rang. Ryan initially thought that someone must have brought Rajah home. He opened the door and what he saw shocked him. Rajah was all by herself! Ryan recalled, “She was just sitting there.” Rajah was covered in thorns and poop. But thankfully, she found her way home. She had rung the doorbell with her nose so she could be let in. And judging by her messy appearance, Mary said that it “seems like she had a great time. ” But Mary said that they hardly ever have to use their own doorbell. So she’s unsure how Rajah knew how to press it to let anyone inside the house know that she’s already home. But when the door was opened for her, the dog didn’t look thrilled at all. In fact, he looked scared. Mary said, “She thought she was in so much trouble and she was sad and sulking, but we were like ‘we’re just happy you’re back.’ It was hilarious, and we couldn’t stop laughing.” After getting her cleaned, Rajah fell asleep almost instantly. She was clearly tired from whatever adventure she got herself into. To avoid this from happening again in the future, the couple plans to build up their back fence with cattle fencing to prevent her from escaping