“Some dogs are smarter than we give them credit for. How the heck did she know how to go 10 miles back to the shelter?,” said Loretta Hyde, the founder of the Animal Rescue League of El Paso. 

The staff of this animal rescue shelter in Texas were all stunned when their former rescue dog named Bailey rang their Ring doorbell at 1 AM asking to be let in. 

They couldn’t believe that this dog was able to find her way back to the shelter and then ring their doorbell to let them know that she was there. 

Despite the constant presence of dogs in my daily life, stories such as this still manage to fascinate me and surprise me with how smart dogs can actually be. 

Bailey Walked 10 Miles 

Bailey is a Shepherd/Husky mix, which, until recently, was the ARL’s longest resident. She won the hearts of each staff member, as she had spent the most time with them during her long stay at the shelter.  

They loved her and she loved them. 

Bailey finally found her forever home, and everyone at the shelter was delighted with the news. 

They hoped to see her sometime in the future if she would maybe visit the shelter with her new dad, but they never imagined that almost a month after her adoption, she would return to them. 

And, no, she wasn’t abandoned by her family or something like that. What actually happened is quite unbelievable. 

According to Bailey’s dad (Micah) and the shelter’s founder (Hyde), in the utter moment of confusion and unfortunate course of events, Bailey got spooked on her walk with her dad and ran away. 

“He chased her for two miles, and she got out of his sight. That’s when he let us know that Bailey’s on the loose,” Hyde said for USA Today. 

They immediately posted about Bailey on every one of their social media outlets, urging everyone to notify them immediately if they saw her anywhere. 

They received tons of messages, and they soon figured out that although Bailey had gone missing, she wasn’t entirely lost, and she seemed to know her way around. 

“I told one of the ladies that was out looking for her, ‘She’s on her way back to the shelter!’, and she said, ‘Loretta, you’re crazy,’” Hyde said. 

She Rang The Doorbell At 1:15 AM, Saying She Wanted In

The truth was, Loretta was absolutely right. 

Three days after she went missing, Bailey found her way back to the shelter, which was almost 10 miles from where she had disappeared.  

To everyone’s surprise, she came to the front door and rang the doorbell, asking if she could come inside. 

Since it was possible to talk through the camera, the staff said ‘Bailey’, and she immediately went to the camera, poking her head, and almost like saying ‘I’m here, let me in!’. 

“Bailey is now safe. To all those who searched, spotted, called, hoped — we thank you. As we knew, dogs are incredible. Bailey made her own way back to ARL, and rang our ring doorbell at 1:15 am saying she wanted in. Staff rushed to the shelter and put Bailey in her run. She was very happy, and we were too,” the rescue posted on their Facebook profile. 

It was incredible how she managed to find her way back to the shelter. She was three days without water and food, so naturally they welcomed her with open arms. 

As soon as they made sure she was completely okay, they notified Micah to let him know that Bailey was safe. 

He hurried to get to the shelter. Hyde notes that he never stopped looking for her, and was over the moon to have her back. 

“It’s a happy ending that shows how not all shelters are bad,” Hyde said.