Luckily, Julie Thornton Johnson and her beloved husband, Jimmy Johnson, are in love with humanity’s best friend. They’re dog people who know how to treat a canine companion with love and respect. The couple has three dogs of their own, and they’re all really close. Each night, the Johnsons usually sleep with all three dogs in their bed, which makes for a very cozy sleeping arrangement that they absolutely love doing.
Then, one evening a strange dog jumped into bed to snuggle with Julie and Jimmy, and their other canine companions. The couple did not know the dog. It was unfamiliar to them. But they didn’t shy away from the animal because they could tell that it just wanted some affection and love, which they were more than happy to provide in spades.
The couple, who live in southeastern Tennessee, did not notice the newcomer at first. Because a thunderstorm had come into their part of the state overnight, it was very loud, and there was a lot of movement going on because the dogs were restless. But when they awoke the next morning, they found that they had a strange dog lounging in their bed with them and the other pooches.
Jimmy looked over at his wife and saw her cuddling with a strange dog and said, “Julie, whose dog is this?”
Julie was clueless. She could not answer her husband because she had no idea where the 90-pound bulldog-lab mix had come from. Nevertheless, the dog had somehow entered their home and was lounging in the couple’s king-size bed as it lived with them day in and day out.
“He and I locked eyes for a second and just were silent. And I was like, ‘That’s not our dog,’” Julie told The Washington Post.
The dog was friendly. Despite being quite large, the animal was lounging on its back so it could keep its belly exposed. When a dog does that, it wants the person near it to scratch its belly and show it a ton of affection. Although this animal was a stranger in the Johnson household, it was no stranger to people and really liked to get affection from anyone and everyone.
“One, how did the dog get in my house? And two, we have three dogs, and they bark at anything. A squirrel in the yard, a rabbit, a bird, they bark. And there was no noise,” Julie said.
The couple believes they left their backdoor open. But they still find it strange that the dog wandered into the house and jumped into bed with the rest of the family as it lived with them.
“One, how did the dog get in my house? And two, we have three dogs, and they bark at anything. A squirrel in the yard, a rabbit, a bird, they bark. And there was no noise,” Julie said.
Eventually, the Johnstons turned to Facebook to find the dog’s owner.
“This is the weirdest post I have ever had to make,” Julie wrote on Facebook. “Is this your dog?”
Hours later, Cris Hawkins and Felecia Johnson claimed the mystery dog. Their pooch’s name was Nala. All is well that ends well.