Dog Surprises Family by Vanishing from Home and Then Ringing Doorbell Camera Upon His Return (Exclusive)

Buddy the dog's family believes the Bernese mountain dog learned to ring the doorbell by watching others

Knock! Knock! Who's there? Your missing dog!

Victor, a Ring doorbell camera user, was surprised when he recently found his energetic Bernese mountain dog Buddy—who Victor thought was inside the house—outside using the doorbell.

Victor tells PEOPLE that the shocking moment occurred after 2-year-old Buddy learned to jump the 4-foot fence surrounding his home in Minneapolis.

"In the beginning, we didn't know how he was getting out," Victor says of Buddy's escape artist antics. "But we finally saw him jump out of the yard, and that's when we knew."

On the day Buddy appeared on his family's Ring doorbell camera, his owners didn't know the dog had managed to vanish from the house.

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"Buddy was gone for about 15 minutes before he surprised us by ringing the doorbell and waiting for the door to open," Victor says.

Part of the surprise came from Buddy's new doorbell ringing skill. Victor explains that his family had not taught the dog how to use the doorbell camera, so they were taken aback when Buddy used the device like a pro.

In the video of the moment, captured by the Ring doorbell camera, Buddy's wagging tail appears first. Soon, the dog is up on his hind legs, ringing the doorbell and looking into the camera. After staring into the camera, Buddy hops down and patiently waits for someone to answer the door. Victor's daughter finds the dog outside and screams an enthusiastic "Buddy!"

"We didn't know he had escaped; our children were home, and as you see in the video, my daughter was super surprised when she opened the door," Victor says of the clip.

The owner adds that Buddy might have learned how to use the doorbell camera by observing others.

Related: Postal Worker Brings Dog to Vet After Snake Bite, Lets Family Know on Doorbell Camera

"We assumed he had seen people ring the doorbell (our main door is see-through glass) and saw that we opened the door soon after it was pressed. He is very smart," Victor says.

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While the resulting video from Buddy ringing the doorbell was cute, it also encouraged his family to make changes so the playful pup can't disappear from his home anymore.

"We extend our fence so he can no longer jump it. He doesn't get out anymore," Victor says, adding that Buddy is doing "great" following his quick unsupervised jaunt outside.

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