WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — After a search of almost a week, Athena found her way home to her family in Florida in time for Christmas Eve, and even rang the doorbell.
Athena, a four-year-old German Shepherd-Husky mix, escaped from her home in Green Cove Springs, Florida, on December 15, sparking a search of the community and nearby towns for her. Her owner, Brooke Comer, said her family left for church that day and received a message from her neighbor with a photo of Athena outside the house.
Comer panicked. Her family rushed home to find her collar in the crate and there was no visible opening for Athena to get out. How she escaped remains a mystery.
The events of the following week continued to be an “incredible” story for Comer, with neighbors and community members from nearby towns contacting her through her missing dog ads and sending images or photos of where they may have seen Athena. Based on all the warnings Comer received, it appeared Athena had made a round trip of almost 20 miles while missing.
With each alert, Comer and her family rushed to the scene within minutes and searched for Athena – to no avail.
“She was the all-time great hide-and-seek champion,” Comer said. “Every sighting made my heart jump, and it was honestly excitement and then your heart is crushed because we were always one step behind.”
The entire search was a terrifying and frightening experience for Comer, who worried about where her already skittish dog might have gone or encountered. That was until 2:30 a.m. Christmas Eve, when she got a Ring video notification from her doorbell and her other dog started barking.
“I was a little dazed, and the dog was barking, and as soon as I heard that bell, I looked at my phone and you could see in the video that it was Athena and she jumped to the door and rang the bell. doorbell,” Comer said.
As soon as Comer opened the door, Athena rushed in and proceeded to lick the face of her son, who was half asleep on the couch. Then she immediately grabbed her ball to play and went to her cage to go back to sleep.
Comer said the experience brought so much hope as neighbors and the larger community searched for Athena over the past week. The next plan was to have Athena undergo a full exam, flea and tick treatments and a microchip.