Tillie the golden retriever and Phoebe the basset hound didn’t return from a walk on Vashon Island, Washington, in early September. Their owner contacted Vashon Island Pet Protectors who, after five days, posted a lost dog notice to their Facebook. A stranger soon reported that Tillie had been seen on their property seemingly trying to draw human attention, so the VIPP volunteers set out to investigate.

“When I got there and looked down, Tillie saw me but didn’t come running up,” a volunteer told The Dodo. “She just stayed near the edge of this cistern, pressed with her head as close as she could get. Had she run up, we might have never realized that Phoebe was down there. She just stayed put, making it so clear that I had to come to her so I would see her friend.”

The dogs were both in good health, and had avoided dehydration by drinking rainwater.

More info: Facebook (h/t: thedodo)

“We had been out looking for about a week when we heard from a farmer here who noticed a reddish dog on his property”

They posted a missing-dog notice online

“Had she run up, we might have never realized that Phoebe was down there”