Early in July 2021, a labrador Catahoula leopard dog mix named Rajah ran away after getting startled by fireworks near the family’s home in Greenville, South Carolina. The sweet dog returned over seven hours later, in the middle of the night, and actually rang the doorbell to be let in. The entire incident was caught by the home’s doorbell camera system.
The time read 3 a.m. when Mary Lynn Whitacre was woken up by the sound of her doorbell ringing. At first, when she saw Rajah outside, she assumed someone had returned her, and they were the ones who rang the doorbell, but the footage clearly shows it was the dog. Whitacre said she was covered in thorns and dirt, so she must have been having a good time.
Rajah was in the backyard with her dog sibling, Ollie, a 2-month-old shepherd mix, when the fireworks began to go off. Spooked by the loud boom and with a show of incredible strength, Rajah jumped the fence and ran off. Whitacre was extremely worried and went out looking for her dog but had no luck. She sent an email to local shelters and posted pictures of Rajah online to aid the search.
Fortunately, due to Rajah’s good instincts, this story has a happy ending, and the dog made it home safely. However, the story serves as a good reminder to watch pets closely when there are fireworks going off, as they can become very frightened by loud noises. Read on to hear more from Whitacre about Rajah’s incredible story.
Be sure to reach the end of this article to see the full video 🙂
The dog owner had a feeling that Rajah would be bothered by the fireworks. Times Now News reported that Whitacre said, “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.” It didn’t take Rajah much time at all to flee from the sound.
Fearful of what could happen to her, Rajah’s owners looked everywhere for her to no avail. Whitacre continued, “My husband came home, and I was driving around looking for her. We were ready to call all the shelters, and she just showed up and rang the doorbell.”
Nobody was quite sure where Rajah learned to use the doorbell. “I don’t even know how she knew how to do that. I’ve never shown her how,” Whitacre said. “She doesn’t go out in the front yard except to the car, so she’s never seen us use the doorbell.”
Whitacre’s husband was the one who heard the dog arrive. She explained, “Ryan was up waiting around to see if she’d pop up. He saw her on the porch, and he ran off and got her.” Fortunately, Rajah was not hurt, just very dirty and a little startled when she got home.
The way Rajah looked when she got home was priceless. Her face looked hilarious in the video, and she was behaving as if she had done something wrong. “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,'” Whitacre shared. “It was hilarious, and we couldn’t stop laughing.”
Did you enjoy the video of Rajah ringing the doorbell? Are you impressed by her ability to find her way home? Let us know your opinion, and be sure to pass this along to your friends and family.
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