Man Wakes Up To Find An Unfamiliar Dog Needing Help In His Living Room, Ends Up Adopting Her

Most people adopt a dog upon lots of research, planning, and consideration. They’ll then spend some time together getting to know their furry friend.

And if they find a good fit, the lucky dog is headed for his/her furever home to become a member of the hooman family.

However, for Jack Jokinen from Fishtown, Philadelphia, it didn’t quite take the normal route.

It was 4 a.m. on Saturday when Jokinen suddenly woke up to find his wife standing over him with unusual news.

Their young 1-month-old daughter was fine, but there was an unfamiliar dog chilling in their living room.

Image credits: JJFromTheBronx

As Jokinen said to The Dodo, “I was sleeping and my wife all the sudden woke me up, and she said, ‘The baby’s OK…but there’s a puppy in our house.’ Obviously, I was very confused.”

At first, Jokinen thought there had been some kind of misunderstanding.

Confused, he wandered downstairs and immediately noticed an emaciated small Lab mix sitting in the middle of his living room — wet, shivering, and visibly distressed.

He couldn’t understand out how the puppy managed to get in.

Image credits: JJFromTheBronx

He said to The Dodo, “The first thing I think is, ‘There has to be someone in our house.’ So I do a security sweep, making sure there’s no one hiding in closets or anything like that. And when I finish, I think, ‘How did this happen? A magical puppy?’”

After checking the home’s security footage from the front door’s camera, he saw himself return home from walking his 2-year-old dog George that evening.

After he went inside, he closed the door, however, it didn’t lock. So, later, the wind was able to blow it open.

Image credits: JJFromTheBronx

The video solved the mystery. Around 3:15 a.m., a dog limped down the sidewalk past Jokinen’s house and then doubled back to look up the staircase leading to the home.

She walked away and returned one last time before she cautiously pattered up the five steps and through the open front door.

On the footage, about half an hour later, someone walking by noticed the open front door. The good Samaritan went up to the house, checked if everything was fine, then closed the door.

As Jokinen noted, had the stranger not done that, Suzy might not have ended up staying.

Image credits: JJFromTheBronx

Both he and his wife dried off the small pup and tried to make her comfortable. The following morning they called animal control, but then quickly concluded that surrendering the sick stray might not be the best option.

Instead, the couple brought the “puppy” to the vet where they were shocked to be told that she was actually between 7-9-years-old!

Image credits: JJFromTheBronx

“She was emaciated, teeth all over the place, only walking on three legs with no collar,” Jokinen said. “We thought, ‘If we just drop this dog off, who knows what will happen?’”

Poor Suzy was crawling with fleas and ticks. Plus, she had a paw infection as well as dental issues and was missing her microchip.

Image credits: JJFromTheBronx

She was scared of everything and in a bad way.

Image credits: JJFromTheBronx

Tweeting a picture of Suzy, Jokinen was surprised when the post went viral. Then, in less than 2 days, the family received $15,000 in donations to be put towards the senior dog’s medical bills.

Image credits: JJFromTheBronx

After all her checkups and vaccinations, she could finally get some rest

Image credits: JJFromTheBronx

They gave her a bath to get rid of the remaining dead fleas and ticks

Image credits: JJFromTheBronx

Image credits: JJFromTheBronx

The best part from this incredible story is, Suzy now has a warm and safe home with a family who loves her – she will be able to live out her golden years in comfortable happiness!

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“We’re able to do all this in a big part thanks to the generosity of the internet,” Jokinen said. “In a way, this isn’t our dog — it’s the internet’s dog.”

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It was definitely lucky that Suzy picked that open door to wander into that night.

If you want to keep pup-to-date with Suzy and her adventures, then follow her on Instagram!

Please SHARE this story with your friends and family!



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