A dog owner has gone viral after sharing the hilarious, and surprisingly practical, solution she came up with to keep her senior Chihuahua happy: a life-sized dummy.
Janelle Grace, from Southern California, said her adopted senior dog, Dingo, has always been obsessed with sitting on people’s laps.
“Dingo is 800 years old. I adopted him from a shelter almost three years ago after his owner died and the family turned him in,” Grace told Newsweek. “He was already very old, with no teeth and no jaw, mostly blind, so not sure his actual age.”
She explained that Dingo will “literally make himself sick” if he doesn’t have a lap available. “He has always been obsessed with sitting on laps and will literally make himself sick if he is forced to sit on the floor,” she said.
That need for constant comfort inspired Grace to try a quirky idea she had once seen online. “I saw a Reddit post a while back where someone bought a life-sized dummy for their pugs and it was a hit, so I figured I would try it.”
The result was Bob Jr., a stuffed Halloween dummy dressed in Grace’s father’s clothes to carry his scent. Dingo, along with Grace’s other pets, quickly warmed to the stand-in human.
“Bob Jr. only just arrived yesterday but everyone except one dog is a big fan. Currently Barney the cat is taking a shift on the lap,” Grace said.
The Chihuahua was officially recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1904. With roots dating back to pre-Columbian civilizations in Mexico, they were kept as companions and even thought to guide souls in the afterlife.
Chihuahuas are known to form intense attachments to their primary owner, loving to be close and often sitting on laps. They’re often called “Velcro dogs” because of this tendency.
Internet reacts
Grace shared the Bob Jr. creation on Facebook’s popular Dogspotting group, where it quickly gained viral attention and people shared their reactions.
The post, which has racked up more than 91,000 upvotes since being shared earlier this week, went into more detail, saying: “Meet Bob Jr, a life sized stuffed Halloween dummy.
“He is wearing an extra set of my dad’s clothes that I had my dad prewear for a few hours to “season” them. (My dad is Bob so it only made sense to call his stand-in Bob Jr).
“I set Dingo on him when he arrived and he immediately settled in for a multi hour nap. It is both ridiculous and hilarious.”
“This is freaking hilarious and genius!” wrote one commenter. While another said: “Aww so sweet and precious.”
Another summed it up and said: “Well, whatever works. As long as Dingo is happy! Happy Dingo, happy life!”
“The things we do to ensure their health and happiness,” joked another commenter.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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