Pawrent’s soul dog who slipped passed broken door lock surprisingly found waiting at home for his dog mom to return from hours of frantic searching, mom says: ‘I’m just very proud of him for being able to come back home.’

Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor

Jun 10, 2026 1:00 PM EDT

Often missing doggos take days, weeks or months to come home for their tearful reunion. Thankfully the story we have lined up for you today ended in a puddle of happy tears after only a few hours of daring doggo adventure in the outside world.

Stories such as this one from Reddit's r/dogs subreddit are actually less common than you might think. In no small part thanks to the fact that most door locks work well and there is no fear of them magically opening while we are not home. Unfortunately that was not the case for this pupper pawrent who came home one night to find an open door and a dogless apartment.

Sparking what must have been one the most frantic searches conducted in the last year. The feeling of potentially losing your best doggo pal is one that no pawrent ought to experience. But thankfully as any good story does, this one ends on a high note and within much less time than anyone expected the pupper found its way back into its pawrent's arms. So kick back, grab some tissues because it's going to get emotional and prepaw for quite the puplifting tail.

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Even with all the variety of dog stories that we hear about it, this is such a special connection to have to a pupper. Dogs have helped more than a few people get through some seriously tough times. And it seems that this pupper has been through the mill with his pawrent, through thick and thin they stuck together as one inseparable team. Taking one careful step at a time to heal and grow together. Such bonds even in the hooman world are rare and it is such a delight to be hearing off this marvelous relationship. Even if things are about to go south…
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Oh goodness what a predicament to be in. it is harrowing enough to come home to your front door sitting there slightly ajar. But for your dog to be gone and your phone to have no battery, well that is just defeating right there. With no one to call and no time to waste, what else can you do other than run and search with all the speed and energy you have left in your body. We cannot imagine what it must have felt like to get to the bottom of all those floors having failed to find your pup, all the while thinking of what could happen to him out on the streets alone…
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