When A Man Wakes Up, He Discovers A Strange Dog In His Living Room
Jack Jokinen’s wife shook him out of bed at 4 a.m. on Saturday. He was used to early morning wake-ups as the father of a one-month-old infant, but he immediately recognized this was something quite different.
“I was sleeping and my wife all the sudden woke me up, and she said, ‘The baby’s OK … ‘However, there is a puppy in our house,'” says the narrator. The Dodo spoke with Jokinen. “Obviously, I was really confused.”
I just woke up to this puppy in my house and we have no idea how it got here. pic.twitter.com/OZMystNsZE
— Jack Jokinen (@JJFromTheBronx) December 14, 2019
When Jokinen went downstairs, he noticed what seemed to be a tiny Lab mix sitting in his living room. He couldn’t figure out how the dog got in with all the doors and windows locked securely against the storm outside.
“The first thing that comes to mind is, ‘There has to be someone in our house,'” said Jokinen. “So I run a security check to make sure there aren’t any people lurking in closets or anything.” And after I’m done, I’m left wondering, ‘How did this happen?’ ‘Is this a magical puppy?’
He reviewed security footage from his front door camera as he returned after bringing his 2-year-old dog George for his final stroll the night before. Jokinen seemed to close the door as he entered, but it did not latch. The front door flew out wide as the wind picked up later that night.
“Then, at 3:16, we see the dog, who we’ve called Suzy, come down the street and stopping outside our house,” Jokinen added. “She was out in the rain and cold, and she paused for a moment before entering the home.”
A passerby passed past the residence about a half-hour later and spotted the open door as well. Before closing the door, he double-checked that everything was in order. Suzy may not have remained the night if it hadn’t been for that: “He didn’t realize there was a dog in the home that wasn’t ours,” Jokinen explained.
Jokinen and his wife wiped the dog’s paws and helped her feel at ease. They contacted animal control the next day, but immediately concluded that surrendering the ailing stray wasn’t the best option: Jokinen described her as “emaciated,” with “teeth all over the place” and “only walking on three legs with no collar.” “We reasoned, ‘Who knows what would happen if we just drop this puppy off?'”
Instead, they took Suzy to the vet, where they learned that the “puppy” that had strayed into their home was actually around 9 years old. Suzy was infested with fleas and ticks, and she had a paw infection in addition to dental problems. The pair made the decision to assist her.
Gotta lather her up and let her sit 5min to get all the dead fleas and ticks off pic.twitter.com/a3aGjhA1nL
— Jack Jokinen (@JJFromTheBronx) December 14, 2019
“Of all the awful things that may happen by leaving your door open in the dead of winter in a large city, we thought that ending up with a nice puppy that has come off the street was the best… “At the very least, we have to give it a go,” Jokinen added.
Jokinen shared a photo of Suzy, which went viral to his astonishment. He got $15,000 in donations in less than two days to help pay for the elderly dog’s medical needs.
He also located the person who gently closed his door that night thanks to the power of social media.