When JP Brammer was chilling at his apartment, he was surprised to see unusual visitors on Saturday morning.
“When I took a peek through the eyehole, I saw the two dogs and a cat,” Brammer told The Dodo. “The cat is what really threw me off. I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, the whole crew rolled up.’”
“I’ve heard these dogs before because they live right above me, but mostly at night,” he added. “I think some part of me did know something weird and interesting was about to happen. It was one of those sideways moments.”
The New York-based journalist live-tweeted his odd encounter with a group of animals outside his apartment door.
“There’s a … cat and two dogs knocking on my apartment door?” he wrote on Twitter. “Like inside the building what do I do omg.”
When Brammer opened the door, the dogs excitedly greeted him, staying politely in the hallway. But the cat had other plans in mind.
The ginger furball slipped past him and began rubbing himself on the furniture. He soon realized that the furry visitors had no intention of going back to where they came from so he decided to spend a little tie with the adorable animals.
“I always ask for permission before petting people’s animal friends,” Brammer shared. “But they were so warm and friendly, I couldn’t help myself of course. I was excited to hang with them while simultaneously hoping the responsible parties would show up soon.”
Fortunately, he located the “lost” pets’ home in no time. “So the apartment above mine had a wide open door which is where they came from,” he tweeted. “I got the dogs inside (but just heard a glass shattering noise so yikes?).”
With the dogs safely home, Brammer still had one problem to solve on how to persuade the cat back upstairs. But just a few minutes later, a scuffling noise outside the door caught his attention – the pooches were back again. Brammer soon discovered that the canines know how to open their apartment door, allowing them to come and go as they pleased.
Afraid that the dogs would escape the building, he decided to babysit the animals for that day. “One of the dogs who went back into his apartment …. locked the door behind him somehow,” Brammer wrote on Twitter, “so now there’s one dog in the hall, one in the apartment, and one cat in my apartment. I’m gonna take the German Shepherd in mine I guess!??”
Luckily, help finally arrived by afternoon. “OH BLESS some actual dog owners who know what they’re doing showed up I have REINFORCEMENTS,” he wrote. “They have leashes and toys and food I’m SAVED.”
Together with his neighbors, they managed to return all three animals to their proper apartment, and secure the handle with a string. “While I was making internet content, they took the dogs out for a walk and then tied up the apartment door to keep the pets inside until the actual owners showed up,” Brammer shared.
After sharing his story online, thousands of Twitter users followed Brammer’s thread. But when the owners finally returned, it wasn’t as exciting as most people were anticipating.
“The actual owners seemed very nice,” Brammer shared. “When they showed up I was just so relieved and happy that everything had worked out OK that all I really did was knock on their door, tell them how good it was to see them all alright, ask them about their door, and then go downstairs to pass out.” “Ultimately, I think a boring, shoddily made apartment door was to blame,” he added. “So it wasn’t as exciting as Twitter wanted it to be maybe, but in the moment it certainly felt like a ride!”
