Our canine friends aren’t always on their best behavior. From “allegedly” shredding your favorite cushions to getting paint on the cream couch, viral videos of guilty pups being caught in the act have been delighting internet users for years.
This week, one pup was caught out after some detective work. In a now-viral TikTok video shared by user tractor.singing, a Daschund and Border Collie were seen in the kitchen where the bin had been knocked over.
In the video, which can be seen here, tractor.singing asks: “Monty… Was it you that knocked over the rubbish bin?” Before turning to the Border Collie and asking “what about you, Pepper?” as the dog walks past with a food packet stuck to its head.
In the caption, the TikToker wrote: “I’m no detective but…” Now viewed more than 340,000 times, the video has left viewers in stitches, with hundreds of commenters sharing their joy and stories of their own naughty pup’s antics.
“Pepper was framed,” joked one commenter. While another said: “Idk man, not enough evidence.”
Others joked that “Pepper clearly didn’t see anything,” and one commenter said: “This is the best TikTok I’ve ever seen.”
“The bag was a paid actor,” suggested another commenter. Another said that the video was “hysterical.”
While the hilarious video has provided comical relief, some commenters warned of the dangers of pets with their faces in snack bags. One TikTok user shared: “This is how my dog suffocated to death.”
In fact, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently warned pet owners of the dangers of snack bag suffocation.
In a 2021 article, the FDA said: “Bags containing food or that once contained tasty morsels are particularly dangerous because pets can smell the food and are more likely to find the bags when they’re left on the counter, the coffee table, the floor or in the trash.
“Pets can suffocate in less than five minutes when their heads become stuck in a bag.”
In 2018, Preventative Vet gathered data from pet owners whose pets had tragically suffocated in snack bags. From 1,354 responses between 2014-2018, 72 percent said that their dogs or cats suffocated in chip or snack bags, 11 percent in bags for pet food or treats, 6 percent in liners for cereal boxes, and 11 percent in bread bags, plastic containers or something else.
Despite TikTok users calling the video a “mystery for the ages,” all the dogs were safe and the video has been able to give viewers a laugh while also helping TikTok users to talk about the potential dangers of snack packets for pets.
If you find your pet with its head stuck inside a bag, the FDA says: “Carefully remove the bag from your pet’s head and contact your veterinarian or emergency veterinary clinic immediately. Your veterinarian will give you medical advice on what you should do.”
Prevention can include ensuring snack bags are carefully disposed of—even by cutting the sides of the bag open or cutting it into pieces before discarding.
Newsweek has reached out to tractor.singing for comment.
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