The Return of Ninja Ray

I had some errands to run in the afternoon so I used the baby gate to lock Ray in the kitchen because we were expecting severe weather. When I returned, Ray wasn't in the kitchen. The baby gate was still in place but he dog was nowhere in sight. 

I called and got no response. I called again and looked in all the usual spots, the chairs, the couches, the baby gate that blocks the cat boxes from Ray. I checked the stair landing. No Ray. 
I went up the stairs and was met by Hugo. Hugo always meets me at the top of the stairs (at least since Ray moved in) and I had the brief thought that there was no way he would be there if Ray was around. But Ray definitely wasn't downstairs so there was nowhere else to go. I looked in the cat room. All of the cat food dishes were empty. Moonie wasn't on the bed. I started to feel a bit anxious. 

As I started down the hallway to check our bedroom, I saw Ray's rump. His head was jammed under an old dresser that we keep in the "non room" at the top of the stairs. The non-room is a space about the size of a small bedroom. I've never been quite sure what it's supposed to be so I made it into a sitting area with a random dresser that contains miscellanea. I ran over and looked under the dresser fully expecting to see Moonie cowering in a corner but there was no cat. 
I called Ray and got him to back out from under the dresser, then dragged him over to the stairs and told him to go down. Ray went. 
I searched for Moonie and found her in my office, looking curious but not really too worried or freaked out. Hugo was milling about, but he seemed more concerned that all the food was gone from his dish. I found myself wondering what the hell had happened while I was gone, and how long and why Ray had been sitting with his head under the dresser. And most mystifying of all - how did Ray get out of the kitchen again?