The Christmas season is supposed to be the happiest time of the year.
One family was suffering when the unexpected happened.
And a Florida family got one scary ring at the doorbell on Christmas Eve after an awful situation.
Family franticly searches for their missing dog
The Christmas season was rough for Brooke Comer and her family.
Athena, the family’s four-year-old dog, had escaped from their Green Cove Springs, Florida home.
The German Shepherd and Husky mix was spotted by one of their neighbors outside their house before it sprinted off.
Comer began to comb her neighborhood, make posts on social media, and put up flyers everywhere around her town to find Athena.
She would get calls about sightings of the pooch that led her to believe that the dog made about a 20-mile journey while it escaped.
The Comers searched Green Cover Springs and the surrounding towns without any success in finding their beloved family dog.
Every time they would go to a place where Athena was spotted, the dog would disappear.
“She was the hide-and-seek all time grand champion,” Comer said. “With every sighting my heart jumped, and it honestly was excitement and then your heart’s crushed because we were always one step behind.”
Missing dog rings the doorbell on Christmas Eve
Athena went missing on December 15 and it seemed like the dog might be gone for good.
But on Christmas Eve, something strange happened.
The Comer family got an unexpected ring at the doorbell.
It was 2:30 am when Brooke got an alert from the video doorbell that someone was there.
She was stunned that Athena had figured out how to ring the doorbell and was pawing at the front door trying to get in.
“I was kind of like in a daze, and the dog was barking, and as soon as I heard that ring, I looked at my phone and you could see in the video it was Athena and she was jumping at the door, ringing the doorbell,” Comer recalled. “Since it was 2:30 AM, I tried to not wake up the kids, but they did wake up from the excitement.”
The dog rushed into the home and acted like nothing had happened.
Athena woke up Comer’s son who was sleeping on a couch to play with its ball.
The pooch then went into its crate and fell asleep.
Brooke called the dog’s return a “Christmas miracle” after being missing for nine days.
She kept faith the whole time that Athena was missing the dog would find its way home.
“I followed up on all the reported spottings,” Comer explained. “Many people saw Athena walking through different neighborhoods and that kept hope alive. I knew her she was still alive.”
Athena is happy to finally be back at home.
“She has not stopped whining or howling since she’s come home,” Comer stated. “She’s definitely found her voice now.”
The Comer family is going to get a microchip for Athena in case she ever escapes again.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
