A dog owner has shared her heartbreak after making a devastating 3am mistake involving her beloved pet, captured on her doorbell camera. Tabitha Doepel, from the United States, recounted the incident on TikTok, admitting she is still struggling to forgive herself.
The Late-Night Toilet Trip Gone Wrong
After finishing a gruelling seven-day stretch at work, Tabitha was fast asleep when her dog, Wednesday, a bully pit bull mix, woke her up at around 3am asking to go outside. Usually, her husband handles late-night bathroom breaks, but on this occasion, Wednesday decided to wake Tabitha instead. Still half asleep, she stumbled out of bed and let her dog into the garden before heading back inside. Unfortunately, exhaustion got the better of her.
Tabitha explained: "I remember letting her out slightly, and I think I went to the bathroom. It was after working so many days in a row, I was sleep deprived." Without realising what she had done, she climbed straight back into bed and fell asleep.
Discovery at 6am
It was not until around 6am that her husband woke up after hearing faint whimpering coming from outside. When he opened the door, he discovered poor Wednesday had spent hours patiently waiting to be let back in. The heartbreaking moment was caught on the family's security camera and later shared online. In the footage, Wednesday can be seen sitting by the back door crying and whining in an attempt to get someone's attention. When that did not work, she tried jumping up against the door to make more noise, but nobody came.
Owner's Guilt and Forgiveness
After watching the footage back, Tabitha felt like the "worst dog mum ever" after seeing Wednesday desperately trying to get back inside. She said: "I must've let her out and went straight back to bed. I literally don't remember even going back to bed." Despite the mistake, Wednesday appears to have quickly forgiven her owner. Tabitha revealed she spoiled her beloved pet with plenty of treats after realising what had happened, joking that she gave Wednesday "so many treats she didn't want any more."
