Missing dog returned to family home and rang the doorbell

After almost a week of searching, Athena found her way A family from Florida in time for Christmas Eve and even rang the doorbell.

Athena, 4 years old German shepherd and husky mix, escaped from her home in Green Cove Springs, Florida on Dec. 15, prompting a search for her in the community and nearby towns. Her owner, Brooke Comer, said her family went to church that day and received a note from a neighbor with a picture of Athena outside the house.

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Comer panicked. Her family rushed home to find her necklace in a crate and with no visible opening for Athena to exit. How she escaped remains a mystery.

The events of the following week continued to be an “incredible” story for Comer, with neighbors and community members from nearby towns contacting her from her missing dog ads and sending any footage or photos they might have seen of Athena. Based on all the alerts Comer received, it appeared Athena made a round trip of nearly 20 miles (32 kilometers) while she was missing.

This Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, photo provided by Brooke Comer shows Athena, a 4-year-old German shepherd-husky mix, returning home to her family in Florida in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve 2024 by ringing the doorbell, ending a massive search for her community that lasted more than a week. (Brooke Comer via AP)

At each alarm, Comer and her family would go to the site within minutes and search for Athena – to no avail.

“She was the all-time champion of hide-and-seek,” Comer said. “Every time I saw it, my heart skipped a beat, and honestly, it was a thrill, and then it broke your heart because we were always one step behind.”

The entire search was a scary and terrifying experience for Comer, who was worried about where her already timid dog might have gone or come across. It was like that until 2:30 in the morning Christmas Evewhen she got a Ring video notification from the doorbell and her other dog started barking.

“I was like in a frenzy, and the dog was barking and as soon as I heard the bell, I looked at the phone and it showed on the video that it was Athena and she jumped to the door, rang the doorbell,” said Comer.

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As soon as Comer opened the door, Athena rushed in and went to lick her son’s face, who was on the couch half asleep. After that, she immediately grabbed the ball to play with and soon went to her cage to go back to sleep.

Comer said the experience gave him so much hope because of the neighbors and the large community that searched for Athena last week. The next plan was to give Athena a full exam, flea and tick treatments and a microchip.