A West Virginia animal shelter is urgently asking for help after a remarkably clever dog pulled off a daring late-night escape — and is still missing days later.
The Huntington Cabell Wayne Animal Shelter first sounded the alarm on Jan. 5, revealing that Dawson, a brindle-colored rescue dog, managed to break free from the facility after hours in an escape that staff say looks unbelievable — but is very real.
According to the shelter, workers arrived Monday morning to discover Dawson was gone. Security footage later revealed exactly how it happened.
“This is NOT AI, though we wish it was,” the shelter wrote in a Facebook post alongside the video. “This guy is much smarter than he looks. Not only did he get out of his locked kennel, he managed to unlock the front door and leave.”
The video shows Dawson calmly opening his kennel using his paws, then trotting through the building to the shelter’s front entrance. Using his mouth, teeth, and tongue, the 40-pound dog manipulates the door lock, pushes it open, and walks off into the night.
Despite several reported sightings, Dawson has not yet been located.
The shelter is urging anyone who believes they may have seen Dawson to call 304-696-5551 or 304-544-5891, stressing that he is still without a home and likely frightened.
As the video spread online, gaining millions of views, shelter staff say they’ve been overwhelmed — not just with attention, but with criticism.
“This is really hard to write,” the shelter shared in a Jan. 7 update. “The videos of Dawson escaping have gotten more than 4 million views, been shared about 85,000 times, and gotten 8,000 comments.”
Many commenters, the shelter said, accused the organization of staging the video or claimed it was generated by artificial intelligence. Others criticized the facility itself.
“That’s not true,” the shelter wrote. “We’re trying.”
Staff explained that the shelter is committed to being no-kill, a mission that often means battling severe overcrowding and limited resources.
“We get thousands of strays and surrenders every year. Thousands,” the post continued. “We just had an incredible adoption event where we placed 184 animals in homes — and nearly as many dogs came right back in.”
While the search for Dawson continues, the shelter is also asking the public to consider supporting their work, noting that even small donations could make a meaningful difference.
“Imagine how much better things would be if even half the people who shared the video donated just $1,” the shelter wrote. “Please keep sharing it. The more people who see it, the better our chances of finding him. And maybe more people will understand just how overcrowded and underfunded shelters really are.”
According to a fundraiser supporting the search, once Dawson is found, he will be placed with an experienced dog owner who can match his intelligence — and curiosity — with the right home.