A dog’s owners originally believed their puppy had outsmarted its crate and escaped, but after looking at the pet camera footage, they realized a crucial mistake led to the dog’s freedom.
Owner Carly Hankins told Newsweek that when her husband returned home, he noticed their golden retriever puppy, Otis, sitting at the top of the stairs. He was immediately concerned because the couple had been crate training the 4-month-old dog. But considering that Otis is a smart puppy training to be a therapy dog, the couple thought he may have unlatched the crate himself.
However, when they checked the Furbo camera, they discovered the crate door wasn’t fully latched. Otis must have bumped it and forced the door open.
“My husband thought he had latched the crate when he left to run an errand, and while Otis was sleeping and moving, the crate opened,” Hankins said. “That’s when he realized he was free.”
The July 28 TikTok video posted to the account @otis_the_goldenretriever shows a snippet from that pet camera footage: the moment Otis realized he was free. His eyes bulged out of his face as he apparently wondered whether it was a test. Then he stepped out of the crate, paused and accepted his newfound freedom.
@otis_the_goldenretriever/TikTok
Luckily for this couple, Otis didn’t get into trouble when he broke free from the crate. Hankins said he “pondered life while looking out the window.” Then he played with his toys. No shenanigans for Otis this time.
Plus, he was out of the crate for only about 15 minutes before the husband returned home.
“Otis is such a good puppy and has never actively tried to get out of the crate,” Hankins said. “This was one of two times that the crate popped open on its own, and he realized it after the crate had been open for a while.”
With 536,400 views, TikTok users quickly suspected he would get into something because well, “a puppy with unsupervised free will is terrifying,” as one viewer wrote. But Otis proved the doubters wrong.
One user pointed out: “Then uses that freedom to stare out the window,”
Another added: “The way he’s looking out the window just scheming.”
Scheming to be the goodest boy.
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