Huskies are regal dogs, but even the American Kennel Club notes that they’re on the mischievous side.

Luckily, they’re also smart, so when Rachel Howatt’s husky Koda got loose from her house in December of 2018, she knew the dog could find its way home.

Of course, that didn’t stop her from launching a search for the beloved pup.

“We definitely searched for her, but in the end she just came back,” she told The Dodo. “She is really smart, so I didn’t doubt she could find her way home.”

Howatt lives in Manitoba – which is in the province of Ontario in Canada – and her home is near the woods.

While she had a hunch that’s where Koda had run off to, it’s a hard place to search.

Koda had been gone for a few days by the time Howatt remembered that one of her neighbors had a trail camera in the nearby woods. She asked if she could view the footage for any evidence that her dog was near the trail.

Sure enough, the camera had picked up Koda.

The footage also gave her some insight into just what the pup was up to.

It turns out Koda had a secret relationship going on – with a male deer.

The footage from the evening of December 21, 2018 showed Koda and the buck eating, playing, and napping together – and just generally hanging out.

The buck seemed completely unbothered by the dog sidling up beside him in the evenings.

It’s unclear why Koda bolted off in the first place (anyone who has had a dog sneak away will tell you it’s both guilt-inducing and perplexing most of the time). And we’ll never understand why she chose to get cozy with a deer.

But she did – and luckily, the deer was accommodating.

It turns out Koda had spent many hours with the buck and at least one other deer (not pictured).

Perhaps she was hearing the call of the wild.

“It was quite something,” Howatt said. “Based on the time they spent on frame, it looked like they spent over 12 hours together. There’s also another photo where there’s two bucks in the picture with her.”

While this isn’t the first time a dog has made friends with deer, in general they do not mix.

Dogs tend to chase deer, making them feel threatened – and what many of us don’t realize (including the dogs – even if they’re just playing) is that a deer that feels cornered will strike back.

People should be especially aware of their dogs in the Spring when vulnerable baby deer are around and their parents can be even more aggressive in protecting them.

Even deer that have somehow wandered into backyards have fatally attacked dogs.

It’s best they be treated like any other wild animal – which is to say, give them their space.

Ther’s no way to know when an interaction will be friendly and you certainly – as a human – shouldn’t force an introduction.

Perhaps that’s part of what makes Koda’s story so incredible.

Whether she was lost and the deer realized it or she simply had a lucky encounter in which both animals sensed no threat is something we’ll never know.

Howatt is just glad to have her dog back safely and would like to think it’s Koda’s unique Husky nature that worked in her favor.

“Huskies have such a free spirit,” Howatt said. “It doesn’t surprise me at all that Koda was trying to make a new friend.”

While Howatt is no doubt keeping a close eye on Koda, it’s pretty clear where she’ll head if she ever slips away again.

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Source: The Dodo, AKC, University of Florida Health, Rachel Howatt via Facebook