Family reunited with missing dog on Christmas Eve after she rang doorbell

It was a dog Christmas miracle.

A family from Florida, USA, was reunited with their lost dog on Christmas Eve – the best gift they could have received this holiday season.

As the New York Post reports, Athena, a German shepherd, was missing for nine days, but on December 24, her family heard the doorbell – and it was a resourceful dog.

“It was about 2:30 in the morning when she was ringing the doorbell and pounding with her paws. It was the morning of Christmas Eve. I woke up to that and saw her on the doorbell,” said Athena's owner, Brooke Comer.

The four young Comer children, heartbroken over Athena's absence, heard the commotion and joined in the heartwarming celebration.

“Since it was 2:30 in the morning, I tried not to wake up the children, but they still woke up,” the mother shared.