A security camera filmed the incredible escape of a dog from an animal shelter

It was 2:30 in the morning when a dog named Dawson escaped from his enclosed enclosure and then used his teeth to open the front door of the animal shelter in West Virginia (USA), slipping out onto the street silently into the night.

When staff from the Huntington Cabell Wayne Animal Shelter arrived around 5 a.m., they were bewildered to find find the unlocked front door.

“We just thought the last person had forgotten to close the door, which would be very unusual,” said Courtney Proctor Cross, director of the shelter, reports The Washington Post.

The shelter was hosting an adoption event and didn’t immediately realize that Dawson, one of approximately 130 dogs at the shelterhad disappeared.

“There was a lot of movement… 80 dogs were adopted”said Proctor Cross.

The next morning, however, the staff realized that Dawson, a 5 year old pitbull mixhad disappeared. They saw the surveillance video and were stunned by his cunning escape, he says The Washington Post.

Surveillance video shows Dawson, who weighs about 22 kilos, pushing his enclosure open, then jumping on his hind legs at the front door and chewing on the lock until it turns.

Dawson arrived at the shelter on December 31after he was picked up by animal control officers. They received a call about an abandoned dog at a home, Proctor Cross said, but they eventually brought two more dogs, including Dawson, to the shelter, he says The Washington Post.

The three dogs were found inside the same home and the property manager who opened the door told the officers to take them away. No one was home at the time. Dawson appeared to be well cared for and showed no signs of neglect.said Proctor Cross.

It’s not Dawson, it’s Rufus

After viewing the video, shelter staff contacted animal control officers and began a search. They posted photos of Dawson on social media and distributed flyers around the community.. They also published the surveillance video of their escape, which quickly went viral with millions of views and thousands of comments. Dawson’s sly exit surprised people.

Proctor Cross said people in the community banded together to search for Dawson. Several sightings were reported, but none turned out to be true. A few days after his escape, someone commented on the Facebook from the shelter that Dawson was called Rufus and that he was home safe and sound.

«If he was smart enough to do all that… we thought maybe he went home,» Proctor Cross said.

Dawson is a freedom-loving 5-year-old pit bull mix (Huntington Cabell Wayne Animal Shelter).

Through a colleague at the rescue group, Proctor Cross learned that the woman who left the comment is a friend of Rufus’ owner. Proctor Cross said he has not spoken directly to the owner, but the woman sent a video of Rufus to confirm it is the same dog that went missing, reports The Washington Post.

Proctor Cross said his colleague informed him that Rufus’ owner was temporarily staying at a home when animal control received a tip about an abandoned dog there. That’s how animal control officers found Rufus and two other dogs, and ended up taking them to the shelter.

Proctor Cross said it’s not clear what the owner’s living situation was or why he was staying with someone else, but his colleague said: Rufus’ owner clearly loves him and was sad to lose him..

Rufus’ owner clearly loves him and was sad to lose him (Huntington Cabell Wayne Animal Shelter).

“We reached out to the contact to let the owner know that we would love to provide him with food, a bed or whatever he needs,” Proctor Cross said. “There are still many unanswered questions,” he says. The Washington Post.

She said the other two dogs are in good hands and she is relieved Rufus is safe. She continues to be amazed by his intelligence.

GML