Jimmy Johnson and Julie Thornton Johnson both love dogs.

They frequently let their three dogs sleep on their bed.

As a result, they didn’t notice it when a strange dog walked into their bed in the middle of the night.

They slept peacefully through the night.

The couple from southeast Tennessee didn’t notice anything unusual until the morning following a rainstorm.

Jimmy then turned to face his wife and said, “Julie, whose dog is this?”

She had no idea who or where this 90-pound bulldog-lab mix that was sleeping in their king-size bed originated from, so she was at a loss for words.

The couple was dumbfounded.

“He and I locked eyes for a second and just were silent. And I was like, ‘That’s not our dog,'” Julie recalled.

The dog was simply curled up on her back with her tummy up, looking for some rubs.

The dog was feeling at home.

“One, how did the dog get in my house? And two, we have three dogs, and they bark at anything,” she continued. “A squirrel in the yard, a rabbit, a bird, they bark. And there was no noise.”

Though they think they may have unintentionally left the back door open, the couple is still perplexed as to how she was able to cuddle up next to them without their other dogs ringing the alarm.

Julie and Jimmy were in utter shock.

“It was obvious then that she was of no harm to anybody. She was just a pup having a spend-a-night party,” Julie shared.

Jimmy and Julie were prepared to adopt their new buddy, but they thought it best to first try to track down her parents to ensure they weren’t taking someone else’s pet.

And indeed, they found her mom.

A few moments later, Cris Hawkins and Felecia Johnson replied to Julie’s Facebook post, claiming ownership of the mysterious canine and revealing her name to be Nala.

Nala escaped after slipping out of her collar while out for a stroll. When it started to become dark, they had to go back after searching for the dog.

They had faith that Nala will finally return home.

Instead, after being alarmed by the thunderstorm, she made her way into Julie and Jimmy’s home.

“She definitely did not use the key under the mat. She did not come down the chimney, she did not break-in through a window,” Julie pointed out. “We’ve had some people asking us like, ‘Well, did she come in through the air conditioning vents? How did this dog get in the house?’ Nope, she walked right in the front door.”

Around 4:30 a.m., Julie awoke and immediately thought the lump belonged to one of her pets.

Jimmy didn’t become aware that this wasn’t the case until 6:30 a.m.

Nala’s parents and Julie are now friends.

Even Julie’s dogs came over for some playtime with them. Now that’s one unique way to make friends.

Check out the video below to learn more about Nala’s story!

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Source: CBS46 Atlanta, USA Today, Julie Thornton Johnson – Facebook