A dog owner has been left wracked with guilt after a sleep-deprived mistake at 3am left her beloved pet distressed. Tabitha Doepel, from an undisclosed location, was exhausted after working seven days straight when her dog Wednesday, a bully pit bull mix, woke her up to go outside.
The Late-Night Blunder
Typically, Tabitha's husband handles late-night bathroom visits, but on this occasion Wednesday chose to wake Tabitha instead. Still half-conscious, she stumbled from bed and released her dog into the garden before returning indoors. Fatigue overcame her, and she forgot Wednesday was still outside.
On TikTok, Tabitha confessed: '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 her mistake, she climbed back into bed and drifted off.
The Heartbreaking Discovery
It wasn't until approximately 6am that her husband awoke, having detected faint whimpering from outside. Upon opening the door, he found poor Wednesday had spent several hours patiently waiting to be readmitted. The heartbreaking moment was captured on the family's security camera and shared online.
In the clip, Wednesday is seen sitting beside the back door, crying and whimpering. When that failed, she attempted to leap against the door to make more noise, yet no one appeared. It wasn't until Tabitha's husband awoke that her ordeal ended.
Owner's Guilt and Forgiveness
After reviewing the footage, Tabitha felt like the 'worst dog mum ever.' 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 blunder, Wednesday seems to have forgiven her owner. Tabitha pampered her pet with an abundance of treats, joking that she gave Wednesday 'so many treats she didn't want any more.'
