Clever canine escape artist finally apprehended after most recent disappearance ended early due to sweltering Arizona weather, dog mom says: ‘This is the first time I've won, but I figured I'd be a gracious winner.’

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Jun 12, 2026 9:00 AM EDT

Dogs think they are so clever, just because their noses are far more sensitive than ours and they can smell from really far away. And the doggo in this story is the pawfect example of such a doggo. Yet in this story he finally meets his match, the Arizona sun.

Reddit's r/dogs subreddit is full of stories about pupper behavior. Often cute and comforting tales of doggos learning to roll over, cuddling with their pawrents and all around being great pupper pals to their hooman pawrents.

But the story we have for you today details a delightful doggo who for the most part is a pawfect pupper. Loyal, loving, kind, gentle, but with one imperfect quality that causes quite a bit of chaos to his pawrents. That quality being his love of running away, often cooking up complex schemes to distract his hooman and make a break for it. He had done it several times in his life and made his pawrent's life difficult as he kept running away, but in this story all that changes and the doggo finally learns a valuable lesson. 
 

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    "I go back inside and about ten minutes later I hear whimpering at the door."
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    My dog is very intelligent. I named him Tesla because he had a white streak on his forehead that looked a little like a lightening bolt, but
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    he ended up growing into his name. He's curious, quick to learn, and picks up subtle cues; he learned how to roll over in one training session. Unfortunately, he's
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    not play motivated and is only slightly food motivated, so this means he's only going to obey when he feels like. I have no idea what kind of breed he is, I
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    picked up the little b er from a pop- up shelter. I can only guess that he's part terrier, part drain clog, part muppet. I was told that he was found with his littermates running
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    through the fields of Missouri. Apparently, he was the hardest one to catch. That hasn't changed. He also loves to escape. It's Tesla's
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  • Well, well, the freest soul amongst a pack of puppers, that is who this lady had adopted. A true handful by the sounds of it and a doggo that can bring a lot of joy and love to their life. While also causing enough heartdropping moments to bring a pawrent to their knees. There is hardly a tougher feeling to navigate than that of having a dog who actively enjoys running away from you. Most of the time all we want is for our puppers to run towards us and only us. So for the reverse to be your reality, and with the added strain of not knowing if your pup will be safe, that is a lot to handle.
     

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    favorite thing. I've let him run free in an enclosed dog park before and he will mostly just sit by my feet and look bored. But when he escapes, you can see
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    the joy and glory in his eyes. He doesn't look like it, but he's surprisingly fast: he streamlines his body and breaks into a full on gallop. If he doesn't want you to catch him then
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    you're not going to. He's pretty much impossible to catch unless you corner him somehow or he finds another dog. He's also aj k about it. There have
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    Cheezburger Image 10637523456
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    been times where I've chased him for a full hour, lost sight of him, and dejected went home only to find him waiting impatiently at the back door. Tesla isn't the kind of
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    dog that tries to rush out the door all the time. Oh no, he bides his time. He waits until you've let your guard down and aren't paying attention. If he's fenced in, he'll walk
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  • Goodness gracious this dog must have a whole heap of redeeming qualities if this is how badly behaved he is. With a pupper like this you can literally not have a second of calm to yourself. Every time you take out the trash, get the mail, go outside for whatever reason, you have to be mindful that your sneaky and seriously clever dog will not make a fool of you and blot out the front door. Even cats usually take the hint and cease escape attempts after a few failures. We are truly impressed with this pupper pawrent’s resolve and dedication to being patient with her pupper.
     

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    along the fence looking for a weak spot and if there is one, he will find it. I've tried everything to get him to come to me: in-depth training, never getting angry when
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    he gets out, running in the opposite direction (this only works half the time), etc. He'll only come if he wants to come. Today I wasn't paying attention. While I was hold the
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    door open and coaxing my other blind dog inside, Tesla slipped out. He stood for a moment, looked at me, and seemed surprised that it had worked. And then he bolted,
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    galloping victoriously through the yard. This time, I didn't chase him. Where I live it's currently 95 degrees outside and at 100% humidity. Call it a hunch, call it
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    laziness, but I just didn't have it in me today. He kept looking back to see if I was chasing him, but instead I just watched him for a minute before going back inside.
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    The thing about Tesla is that he is very hairy. He has long coarse black hair with a thick, black undercoat. He sheds like a beast year round despite being brushed out
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    2x/week. What ever breeds are knocking around in him I suspect weren't meant to be in the hot, muggy south. I go back inside and about ten minutes later I hear
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    whimpering at the door. There is Tesla, looking absolutely defeated. He walks inside and makes it about ten feet before throwing his body onto the cool ceramic floor.
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    I patted his head, gave him some fresh water, and a little food. This is the first time I've won, but I figured I'd be a gracious winner.
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escape dog mom clever disappear artist weather reddit story canine early dog story arizona
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