A newly adopted dog in Texas found her way back home after going missing by being incredibly smart. The dog found her way back to the temporary shelter where she had been cared for.
Bailey, a husky mix, went missing from her new home on January 29, 2023. Her new family called the Animal Rescue League of El Paso right away to let them know.
What neither party knew at the time was that Bailey had figured out how to get herself back to safety all on her own. Over the next two days, Bailey managed to find her way back to the shelter that had been her temporary home. She navigated 10 miles before finally showing up at the shelter’s front door and ringing the doorbell!
Initially, Animal Rescue League of El Paso (ARL) posted about Bailey to help in the search. They wrote: “This beautiful girl — Bailey — has gotten loose in the area of Mesa and Sunland Park, on the west side. She is very friendly. If you spot her or find her, please call.”
The rescue began to receive reports of sightings of Bailey. But ARL was about to get an alert of a Bailey sighting much closer to home. At 1:15am in the morning, the shelter received an alert on their Ring doorcam. When they looked at the doorcam video they were shocked to see Bailey looking up at them!
Animal Rescue League of El Paso
“As we knew, dogs are incredible,” ARL wrote on Facebook. “Bailey made her own way back to ARL, and rang our ring doorbell at 1:15am saying she wanted in. Staff rushed to the shelter and put Bailey in her run. She was very happy, and we were too.”
Animal Rescue League of El Paso
ARL added, “This girl is amazing. Love the Ring doorbell camera…Bailey was letting everyone know she was home and wanted in. Sad not sad. She lived at the shelter for soooo long this was home to her. She felt safe here. When she got loose she was on a mission to get home…So happy that she’s home safe.”
Loretta Hyde, the founder of Animal Rescue League of El Paso, told KFOX14 that she was amazed that Bailey found her way back to the shelter. “These dogs are smarter than people give them credit for. How did she know what direction to go?” Hyde wondered. That will remain a mystery that only Bailey can answer.
But Hyde thinks that Bailey’s return visit indicates Bailey must have enjoyed her stay, saying, “Strays want to go back to us. They love our shelter.”
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