KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A Tennessee couple recently woke up to find a dog in their bed, but much to their surprise, they soon realized it wasn’t one of theirs.
“This is the weirdest post I have ever had to make. Is this your dog?” Julie Johnson asked on Facebook after finding the pooch earlier this month.
Julie and Jimmy Johnson, of Ocoee, Tennessee, own three dogs, so it’s not unusual for them to wake up with a dog in their bed. On Sunday, though, the scenario played out a little differently.
“It is absolutely normal to wake up in our house with one of OUR dogs in the bed with us,” Julie Johnson wrote in the Facebook post, alongside photos of the mystery dog. “One small problem, THIS IS NOT OUR DOG, nor do we know how she got in our house.”
Johnson said her first reaction was concern, but she soon realized the dog was friendly.
“At first, we thought it was one of ours, but they rarely lay on the pillows! In pitch darkness, I just assumed it was. Wouldn’t we all? As daylight began to creep in through our curtains we realized we were snuggling with someone else’s dog.”
Johnson learned via Facebook that the dog’s name is Nala, and that she lived almost two miles away. In a “pupdate” to her original post, Johnson said Nala’s mom was coming to get her.
“Good luck getting her out of my bed,” Johnson added.
Johnson theorized that Nala became frightened by a recent storm, which prompted her to seek shelter inside her house.
“Why my dogs didn’t bark at her? No clue. They bark at everything,” she said. “Maybe they knew she needed help too.”
“Why my dogs didn’t bark at her? No clue. They bark at everything.”
– Julie Johnson
Nala’s surprise visit gained some major attention on social media and was even covered on “Good Morning America.”
“I never thought my time to shine and make people smile would be laying in bed with a strange dog, in my nightgown with unbrushed hair and sleep in my eyes,” she wrote.
The Johnsons have kept in touch with Nala since discovering her in their bedroom. On Tuesday, they met up with her for a puppy play date.
“We had ice cream and treats and had a fantastic time!” Johnson said.
